Novabird
by greg.white.5
Summary: An old friend from both Oliver and Sara's pasts comes to Starling, looking to reforge old friendships, and help with the fight against injustice. He is a lot more than he seems, and has a bit of a history with both Oliver and Sara, as well as ties to Slade, the League and even Moira (a little bit). Will eventually be OC/Felicity, but bear with me while it gets there!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One – An old aquaintance

Felicity noticed him the second he stepped out of the elevator. She was sat at her desk at QC, attempting to look like she was filing reports for Isabel Rochev, while subtly running a few searches for anymore of the former inmates that escaped from Iron Heights during the undertaking, when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. Ordinarily she would have thought nothing of it, people come in and out of QC all the time, and given his perfectly tailored suit, he certainly looked like he belonged on the penthouse floor of a billion dollar company. Felicity, however, had spent enough time with Oliver to notice when something was out of the ordinary. The man now slowly approaching her desk was tall, almost as tall as her CEO boss and crime fighting partner, and slim, with jet black hair swept back in a strangely retro style, like the kind of hairstyle that was popular in the 1950s. He couldn't have been over 25, she decided, and as he got closer she couldn't help but think more and more how weirdly attractive he was. She couldn't put her finger on why she thought so, but there was something about him that made her stare. On top of that, his eyes were grey, the colour of hard iron, and in them she could see a stronger, more penetrating gaze than that of anyone she had ever met, including Oliver (even when he was in 'Arrow mode', as she called it).

Those grey eyes landed on her as he reached her desk, and he suddenly smiled. Not the polite fake smile most rich businessmen give to their associate's executive assistant, but a genuine smile that lit up his face, softening his eyes to look more like liquid mercury.

"Good afternoon," he began, and she noticed he was British, and very well spoken. His voice was soft, and Felicity couldn't help but think that he somehow managed to make those two simple words sound flirtatious, "I'm here to speak with Mr Queen, is he around?"

"Mr Queen is indisposed at the moment," Felicity answered nervously, picturing Oliver climbing the salmon ladder, or beating the stuffing out of a training dummy, with no shirt on, sweating...she felt herself blush and tried to bring her mind back to the man in front of her, "May I pass on a message Mr..."

"Apologies, how rude of me, My name is Grey, Cas Grey," he reached out a hand to Felicity, and when she reached to take it, he held her hand very gently for just a second. It was the kind of handshake Felicity had seen in old 40s Hollywood movies, not really common anymore, but strangely charming, and she found herself blushing slightly, "And you are...?" He raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Felicity," she replied, a little too quickly, "Smoak...it's Felicity Smoak. I'm Oliver's...I mean, Mr Queen's executive assistant, so basically I do most of his work for him...not that he doesn't work extremely hard, I just meant I look after his schedule, day and night...not that I know what he does at night, or who...I mean who he spends time with, not just who, 'cause duh that would be awkward...oh wow I'm babbling, people usually interrupt me when this happens, but you're just kind of waiting politely, which is very nice, handsome and polite, that's a good combo you got going on there...not that I noticed that you're handsome, although I bet everyone does...oh my god I'm still going, okay stopping in 3, 2, 1."

Before Felicity could apologise for her usual verbal diarrhea, or disappear into the floor, which she was hoping would happen any minute, Cas chuckled slightly.

"That was quite a ramble, I was worried you might forget to breathe for a moment." he began, a smile still touching the corners of his lips, the lips she still couldn't stop staring at...she struggled not to let out a sigh and mentally shook herself as she felt the blush in her cheeks spread.

He laughed again, even though she hadn't said anything.

"Well Felicity, I do hope I can call you Felicity, if you could let Mr Queen know I was here, and that I would quite like to take him out for lunch soon, I would very much appreciate it," before turning to leave, she noticed he bowed ever so slightly, which was a bit weird, but she dismissed it as he finished, "perhaps I will have the pleasure of seeing you again."

And with that, he walked back towards the elevators and disappeared from view.

* * *

Oliver was pounding the practice dummy with a rattan stick when he heard footsteps echoing off the stairs down to the lair. He liked the nickname Felicity had given to their base beneath Verdant, even if he would never admit it to her.

He recognised the click of her heels, and stopped what he was doing, turning to her.

"Hey Felicity, what are you doing down here, aren't you filing reports for Ms Rochev?" he asked her quietly, with the same measured tone she had come to recognise as his 'non Arrow' way of speaking.

"Don't worry Oliver, I finished those and they're sitting on her desk right now. I came by because someone came to the office to see you, someone I didn't recognise," she replied, sitting down at her desk and opening a number of windows on her screens that Oliver knew nothing about. "I don't know why, but there was something about him that made me want to come straight by and tell you..." she was interrupted by a voice coming from the stairs, a soft British voice that she had heard only an hour before.

"I tend to have that effect on people." Cas began, again with a smile starting at the corners of his mouth, "I'm sorry for not being completely honest with you, but given how Oliver spends his nights, I thought it would be simpler to find this place sooner rather than later." He looked up expectantly. Oliver was facing away from him, unmoving, and when Felicity looked up at Oliver's face, she jumped slightly. He looked like he had seen a ghost (or in this case, heard a ghost, Felicity thought wryly, since he hadn't actually turned around.)

Cas took a few steps forward, his suit as immaculate as it was at QC, but minus the tie, which Felicity noticed made him look more casual, but no less attractive. Just as she was reprimanding herself for her wayward thoughts while a strange man was calmly walking into their super secret lair, he spoke again.

"Hello old friend," he said, clearly talking to Oliver. His tone was one of fondness, and a slight amount of reverence, which was strange, because Oliver had definitely never mentioned him before.

What happened next was even stranger. After a long moment, Oliver finally turned to look at Cas, with a single tear in his eye, Felicity couldn't help but notice, and then without warning he quickly closed the gape between himself and the other man, and threw his arms round him. Cas returned the hug just as fervently, and they held each other like that for what felt like hours.

Felicity cleared her throat, but they didn't seem to notice, so she said "Oliver!" quite loudly, hoping to catch their attention.

They pulled apart then, and Oliver looked over at her, with a slightly glazed look in his eye. Felicity could almost see the moment when the full situation dropped back into place and Oliver remembered where (and maybe when) he was. He looked at Cas, and opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again, looking confused. A second later he tried again.

"Cas, what the hell...how did you...why are you here?" Oliver fished around in his head for what to say, how to communicate the numbing shock that he felt at seeing the man who saved him from himself on Lian Yu. He turned away, noticing Felicity's confused expression, so decided to explain the small part he know. "Felicity, Cas was with me on the island. If I hadn't met him when I did, there's a very real chance I wouldn't have made it home, and even if I had, I wouldn't have been the man I am. I was in a very dark place my fourth year marooned there, for a lot of reasons, and he pulled me back. I owe him everything."

"Oh Oliver, you know you saved me as much as I saved you" Cas countered, throwing an arm over Oliver's shoulder casually, "I'm just sorry I didn't find a way to get us both off of that island. Truly, that has haunted my every day since."

"As to your initial, slightly confused, questions, I was taken from Lian Yu, and ended up in China, with no idea where I was or how I got back. I resolved to make a few changes in my life, to honour you."

Oliver looked at him again, eyes still showing confusion, and asked "What are you doing here, why now? After the island I had no idea what happened to you, and when I got back I looked for you at first, but there were no records or signs of you anywhere."

"Ah yes, _that,_ I erased anything and everything recorded digitally relating to me that I could find. It's a long story as to why, but suffice to say I thought it was safer that way. There are a lot of things about me you still don't know, things that you likely wouldn't believe. Even stranger than what you saw on the island." Cas looked away as he said this, and Felicity noticed he had a distracted, for off look in his eyes. He seemed to shake himself back to the present and looked at Oliver again. "I'm here now though, to help you. It took me some time to catch word of the Starling City vigilante, but when I did I knew it had to be you, especially with the hood. I remember the first time I saw you wearing it, when you told me why it means so much to you." He gave Oliver a squeeze on the shoulder and a sad smile, then cocked his head towards the door.

"Someone's coming; how many people know your secret exactly?" he asked, with his eyebrow raised the same inquisitive way it had been at QC. He didn't look concerned, just curious in a detached sort of way, it was unnerving.

"I don't hear anyone, Oliver did you?" Felicity asked, just as the door to the lair opened and a pair of black boots appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Hey Ollie, can I talk to you? Its about my family, I'm..." Sara came down the stairs without looking to see who was in the lair, presumably Oliver had told her he was going to be here. She looked up as she stepped off the last step, and froze in her tracks. Her eyes widened with the same shock Oliver's did minutes before, but also with a glimmer of joy hidden just beneath.

"That's impossible...," Sara began, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Nihao mei mei," Cas spoke in perfect Mandarin, a phrase Oliver recognised. It was a very personal and familiar way to address someone, which confused Oliver, because he barely told Cas about Sara, and this felt more like he knew her personally.  
Almost as if to answer his unspoken question, Sara closed the gap between them, threw her arms around Cas's neck and kissed him. He didn't seem shocked in the least, and Felicity noticed he placed his hands at her hips and responded to her kiss.

Felicity whistled under her breath. She wasn't quite sure how to process what had happened in the last few minutes, and when she looked at him, she could see Oliver was having as much trouble as she was.

Sara pulled away from Cas and turned to Oliver and Felicity.

"Judging by the look on Oliver's face, I'm torn between asking what's going on down here and explaining myself..." Sara broke the tense silence following the kiss, and apparently decided Oliver's explanation should come first. She said as much and looked at him expectantly. He repeated what he had said already, that they met on the island in his third year, and saved one another in some way, although he did not say how. He then asked Sara, not entirely kindly, how she knew him.

"We met in the middle east less than a year ago. I was fulfilling a contact for the League of Assassins. I told you I did things I'm not proud of to survive, and that the League changed me, trained me. Cas came to their home, their temple, to meet with Ra's al Ghul about something. We grew close, he saw what that life was doing to me, and he understood. He promised to free me..." a look of confusion and anger crossed her face. "You promised to free me!" she repeated, louder and directed at Cas.

"I did free you little one," he replied, looking concerned, and using the english translation of what Oliver could only assume was his nickname for her. "I gave Ra's a life for a life. I performed a contract for him, in exchange for your freedom."

"Well clearly he didn't think it was a deal, because just yesterday Oliver and I were attacked by Al-Owal. He swore to bring me back to the League, and punish me for running."

At that, Cas's face switched almost instantly from confusion and a look of care, to controlled rage. He looked furious, so much so that Felicity recoiled momentarily.

"Where is he now?" Cas asked, looking like he was barely controlling his tone.

"We don't know," Oliver replied, "but Felicity is searching as we speak, if we find him, you'll know" He turned to Cas as he said that and continued. "Do you mind explaining what you meant when you said you 'performed a contract' for the League of Assassins, and while you're at it maybe explain what you said to me that you assumed I wouldn't believe?"

Cas visibly calmed in front of their eyes. He moved to sit next to Felicity in the spare computer chair and started to speak.

"Ok, well your first question is easy to answer," Cas started slowly, like he was debating how to phrase what he was going to say. With him sat this close, Felicity was overwhelmed by his strange, slightly alien beauty. He reminded her of what she imagined elves would look like when she first read Lord of the Rings (minus the pointy ears of course)...he was handsome, no doubt about it, but in a strange way she couldn't pin down. _'Lets not forget he' has a history with like everyone in the room...well, everyone except me, of course.'_

Cas paused and glanced at her, and she heard him laugh quietly to himself. '_Oh god, what if he can read minds, that's not good, my verbal diarrhea is bad enough out loud, its a hundred times worse in my head. Ok Felicity. Calm. Down. There's no such thing as mind readers, maybe he just thinks you're cute, like Sara does.'_

Oliver clearing his throat and looking expectantly seemed to make Cas focus again, the smile left his face.

"Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the League. I met Ra's a number of years ago, and I saved his life. He owed me a favour, so when I requested Sara's freedom, he didn't have much choice. He requested I 'remove' a very corrupt warlord in Sudan in return." Cas said, but Oliver interrupted.

"So you killed him?" Oliver asked, shock in his voice.

"No, of course not." Cas replied calmly. "I just removed him from his position of power, and left him with nothing. It's much more effective. Do you not remember, on the island, I showed you that if you are capable, you can achieve your goals without killing, even without violence."

Team Arrow quietly digested this information when Felicity spoke up.

"Wait, you said you met Ra's al Ghul a number of years ago. How many? Coz not to be rude, but you don't look old enough to have done much besides go to school 'a number of years ago'"

"Actually that's one element of Oliver's second question. I am...slightly older than I look. A lot older, actually." Cas replied evenly, looking warily at the other three.

"When you say a lot, I'm guessing you're not talking 45?" Felicity spoke again, as was her habit in awkward situations. "I'm not sure how unbelievable this is going to be, but I personally am now very curious."

"Well Felicity, since you ask _so _nicely..." Cas responded with a sly half smile and a wink that made Felicity's blood heat under her skin. She took a deep breath and was about to try again when Cas continued.

"If I was to tell you that I was born Castiel Augustus Gray, would that perhaps give you a clue?" he still looked wary as he said this, leading Felicity to think he hadn't told many people this secret about himself, and that possibly when he had they hadn't taken it very well.

"It's ok, I think I speak for everyone present when I say we can handle it." Felicity said, looking at Oliver and Sara for support. Seeing her look into his eyes seemed to snap Oliver out of whatever trance he was in.

"Yeah, I trust you Cas, whatever you have to say, it won't change anything." Oliver spoke up, hoping to reassure his old friend.

"You saved my life, and I didn't even know it, whatever it is, how could I not accept it" Sara added sincerely. Clearly she cared about him a great deal, although judging by their reactions to seeing him, maybe Oliver did as well, he just wasn't as good at showing his emotions, as Felicity well knew.

"_102AD annum natus, Romae. Vixi ad MM fere annos."_ Cas spoke slowly and deliberately, all humour gone from his face.

Felicity was the only one who reacted with anything other than confusion. Her face was as shocked as Oliver and Sara's had been when they saw him. When they looked at her confused, she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Seriously, did neither of you study Latin? Oh wait, sorry Sara, I forgot you were 18 when you got on the Gambit." Felicity swallowed, embarassed. "And Oliver I suppose its hard to learn Latin when you're being kicked out of 4 colleges...I mean, nevermind. Translation, he was born in 102AD. He's nearly 2000 years old...which if we suspend disbelief and go with, means he's either a god, or a vampire or something..." She trailed off, looking at him now with fear in her eyes.

"Worry not Felicity," Cas replied, the easy smile back on his face, the smile that she now saw as a mask he used to hide the iron underneath, the look she had seen in her office at QC, she realised, was the real face, the charming smiles and flirting were his mask. "I'm not a vampire, I eat food like anybody else. I just don't get old, I've never known why. After 18 or 19 centuries I kind of lost interest in why, I just accepted it. I'm sure this is a bit startling, but that's not the strangest part. It has to do with..."

He stopped mid sentence as Felicity's monitors beeped. She turned, realising she had a location for where the assassin who attacked Sara and Oliver was. Cas looked over her shoulder and without a word, headed for the stairs.

Oliver grabbed the hood and changed quickly, as did Sara, and they followed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Beast Within

Oliver and Sara split up as they reached the warehouse that Al-Owal was using as his base, each scaling a side of the building and finding a high window to silently climb through. There was no noise coming from the building as they entered, so they assumed they had beaten Cas here. As they started to look around, however, something struck them both as wrong.

Oliver jumped down to ground level, and was confronted by the lifeless body of Al-Owal, and a follower that he hadn't seen before. Both men had had their necks broken, but Oliver couldn't see any hand marks on their skin…strange, he thought, moving further into the building. That was when Sara joined him, making a gesture that showed she was just as confused as Oliver.

They moved into the next room, pushing aside a number of plastic sheets, when they saw them; two figures at the back of the warehouse, the first apparently holding the second in the air by the throat. As they got closer, and Oliver's eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he saw it was Cas who was holding the other man aloft, his face a mask of absolute fury. Without warning he swung his arm and the man flew 15ft across the floor towards them. It was strange though, Oliver could've sworn the man stayed in the air for just a second as Cas's arm moved, before following the gesture. '_It's just dark'_ Oliver told himself, '_He's just damn strong apparently, he never showed me THAT on the island.'_

As he was thinking this, Cas advanced towards them slowly, and the look in his eyes was nothing short of terrifying. As he came closer he began to speak, but not to Oliver or Sara.

"You will relay this message to Ra's al Ghul," he began in a powerful tone that neither of the masked heroes recognised coming from him. _'He was always so kind to me'_ Sara thought sadly. "The Canary is under my protection, if he makes any attempt to harm her, or force her to return to the League, I will burn his entire world to the ground. Tell him that. Now go."

With a gentle flick of his wrist, the man jerked to his feet. He turned on the spot and sprinted for the exit.  
Only then did Cas seem to notice that his friends had arrived. The anger seemed to flood out of him in a wave, leaving him looking tired and distant. Sara walked slowly towards him, wary of what he might do. He reached towards her, placed his hands on her cheeks, and kissed her gently on the forehead, before pulling her into a soft embrace.

"You are safe now little one. I swear they will never hurt you again." His words were like the opening of a floodgate. All the fear and pain she had been hiding and holding for so long came flying out as she started to cry. She clung to him like he was her rock on the storm of emotions that threatened to pull her under. As he held her there, stroking her hair, he started to hum a tune she didn't recognise. As he did, she felt her pain slowly drift away, the fear and anguish that was flooding her seemed to flow out, leaving her with a content, calm feeling she was not used to.  
Oliver walked towards them as they separated, and noticed that while Sara still had tears streaming down her face, she seemed to be smiling. She turned to him then and simply said "Ollie, I think I'm free" and then giggled. It was such a lovely sound, one that Oliver had sorely missed in the 6 years since he took her on the Gambit with him.

"I think you might be right Sara, how about we get you home," Oliver replied, hoping beyond hope that the girl he remembered could come back to him, that her years with the League hadn't damaged her beyond repair. "Oh and Cas," Oliver added, a thought striking him suddenly, "could you maybe finish your explanation tomorrow night, as much as I would like to know how you did all that stuff, I think we could all use a good night's sleep to digest what's happened tonight."

Cas smiled and placed an arm around each of their shoulders. "Of course, when you get to be an old man like me, you'll start to appreciate the importance of an early night," he joked, giving them a small wink. "Come on, off we go."

* * *

"Welcome back boys and girls," came the soft British voice from deep in the lair as they entered, "How was Russia?"  
"Cold, but otherwise uneventful" Oliver replied nonchalantly, belying the bruises on his bodyguard's face. "How was Coast City, is Sara okay?"  
"She's fine, she decided to stay with her mother for a while, then come back to Starling to talk to her sister when she's ready." Cas looked over at Diggle as he spoke. "I'm sorry, we have yet to be formally introduced, you must be Mr Diggle, Oliver's other crime fighting partner. Cas Grey," they shook hands firmly, "it's a pleasure."  
"Good to meet you Mr Grey, Oliver has told me almost nothing about you." Diggle replied, a knowing look on his face as he glanced at Oliver.  
"Oh I wouldn't take it personally Diggle, he's been fairly tight lipped the whole time I've known him, it's like he's trying really hard to portray himself as the strong silent type. It's adorable." Cas's mocking smile was met with one of Oliver's signature glares, but Cas seemed unfazed as he moved on. "And Felicity, lovely to see you again, Russia agrees with you it seems," he pulled her into a familiar hug that surprised Felicity, given that they had only met once. Then she remembered his greetings to Oliver and Sara and blushed '_Maybe he's just super friendly with, like, everyone. I wonder how long it'll be before his hello to me is a makeout session…damn it Felicity, do not say that out loud.'__  
_She pulled away from the hug, but as he passed her ear, Cas whispered, "Not just yet my dear_,"_and winked, making her jump. _'Ok, that was weird. I definitely didn't imagine it that time.'_

As if prompted by her slightly panicked thoughts, Cas moved back to sit down and said, "So Oliver, still interested in how I so effectively disposed of those mighty assassins?"  
Felicity couldn't help but think that he didn't take many things seriously. Whether it was his dry sense of humour, or the cold detachment she had seen when he told them how old he was, there were very few things he was emotionally invested in. '_Except saving Sara from some international super assassins…he really flew off the handle on that one, from how Oliver described it at least.'_

"Yes, but only if its brief, my mother's trial is later today, and I'm going to go and see her beforehand to sort out some last minute case details," Oliver looked grave and distracted as he said this, and Cas was about to suggest leaving the explanation until later, when he continued, "but this has been bothering me since it happened, so an explanation would be great."  
He looked at Cas expectantly as he moved unconsciously towards his bow case, a movement Cas was acutely aware of.

"Ok, here goes nothing," Cas began, taking a deep breath. "I can…do things, things that no other person I have ever met can do."  
After a moment of silence, Oliver was about to ask what he meant by this. The words died in his mouth when Cas made a lazy gesture over his shoulder and the lamp on Felicity's desk floated 5ft in the air.  
After opening and closing his mouth a few times, Oliver still couldn't manage to find anything to say. Luckily, as always, Felicity broke the silence.

"Ok, that was not what I was expecting," _'Of course he's not reading your mind Felicity, your thoughts are just written all over your face'_"So you're, what, Telekinetic? How is that possible? Were you born that way? Did you learn?"

"That is too long a story for right now I'm afraid Felicity, but another time, I promise. I assume that explains how I so easily dealt with Al-Owal and his associates." Cas continued with a meaningful look to Oliver. "Shall I come with you to see your mother?"  
"Thank you for the offer Cas, but that won't be necessar…" Oliver began, but Cas interrupted. "Nonsense, I insist, any family of yours is as good as family to me." He got up as he said this and put on the jacket he had discarded on the back of Felicity's desk chair, then strode quickly towards the stairs. "Shall we?" he said as he passed Oliver, giving his friend a pat on the shoulder. Oliver just rolled his eyes before turning to follow.

* * *

As the pair arrived at Iron Heights, Oliver's phone buzzed. He answered after seeing it was Felicity, and before he could say anything she launched into a quick ramble about Diggle taking ill at the office, and her discovery that it was Vertigo in his system. He ordered her to find the Count, after realising he must have escaped Iron Heights during the quake, and then took a second to regain his composure before entering the prison, his older friend a step behind.

When they entered the meeting room, Oliver gave his mother a hug, and then pulled his sister into a one armed embrace.  
"What's the plan?" He asked, turning to face the only other person in the room who wasn't his family, his mother's lawyer Jean.  
"As you know Oliver, Thea, your mother is facing the death penalty," Thea visibly shuddered as she said this. "But I'm not worried, as long as we present her as a loving mother who did what she did out of fear for your lives, everything will be fine."

Cas stood off to one side studying the group while this exchange was going on, and Oliver noticed a flicker of surprise cross his friend's face as Jean said 'loving mother', which was odd. He resolved to ask his friend about this later when his mother spoke up.

"And who is this Oliver, not to be rude but this is a very personal family situation?" She looked at Cas sternly, and Oliver was impressed his friend didn't flinch from her gaze. _'Although I suppose after 2000 years he's probably pretty hard to intimidate.'_Oliver thought to himself. He then realised his mother was expecting him to supply an explanation, and he was just crafting a lie in his head when Cas spoke.  
"My apologies for the intrusion Mrs Queen, my name is Cas Grey, I'm an old friend of Oliver's, providing moral support during this difficult time." He stepped forward and shook her hand, and as they touched, Oliver noticed the look of surprise crossed his face again, more obvious this time, before he quickly supressed it.

Moira looked confused herself for a moment, and she whispered, almost to herself, "Cas Grey, that can't be possible…" before letting his hand go and giving him a smile that didn't reach her eyes and saying "Well, anyone who can offer my son support is welcome."  
At that, Cas stepped back and they carried on their conversation.

As they left, Oliver and Cas returned to Oliver's car. The younger man turned to his friend and asked the question that had been plaguing him since he saw his earlier reaction.  
"What did my mother say that surprised you Cas?" he enquired softly, then as his brain caught up, he added, "and what exactly was up with her reaction to you?"

Cas paused for a moment before answering, appearing to be weighing up what to say.

"I'll be honest here Oliver, it seems i met your maternal grandfather. I didn't realise it myself until I saw your mother's full name on the file her lawyer had. Moira Dearden…it's not a common name, and I remembered back in…maybe the 1960s, I was in Starling City and went to a man for information about a someone I was trying to find. He had a daughter; she was only 5 or 6 at the time. She was adorable, with blonde pigtails, and her name was Moira. I remember introducing myself to her, she was so mature and sure of herself for one so young. Clearly that memory stuck, judging by her reaction when I introduced myself again today." Cas looked wistfully out the window after that, clearly lost in memory.

Eventually, Oliver broke the silence again, a question nagging at him. "So was that why you looked so surprised when Jean was speaking?" Oliver somehow knew it wasn't, but what he heard next was something he could never have expected.  
"Oh, no that was something different. While Jean was talking, your mother kept thinking about an affair she had nearly 20 years ago with a man named Malcolm. It struck me as an odd thing to have on your mind during a trial that could mean her life." Cas said all of this casually, still looking out the window, not realising he had just sent Oliver's brain into overdrive.  
"My mother had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn?!" was the place his brain settled first, closely followed by, "Wait…what do you mean she was _thinking_ about an affair? You're gonna need to start explaining!"  
Cas seemed to snap back to the present as Oliver switched to his threatening Arrow voice, and judging by the look on his face, he had only just realised what he had said. A look of grim determination took over his features, and he turned to fully face Oliver.  
"When we reach the lair, I will explain. I swear."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the follows and feedback folks, it has really inspired me to keep writing. When I posted chapter 1 I wasn't sure what kind of reception this idea would get. Here is chapter 3, hopefully will give a bit more depth to the mysterious Mr Grey. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3 – Counting Stars

Oliver pulled up to Verdant in silence. His friend hadn't said a word since promising him the truth, and carried on in silence as they continued down into the foundry.

"Oh good, you're back," Felicity began without turning from her screens, "no news on the Count yet, but I'm still looking, how's your mother…?"

It was only then Felicity noticed the uncomfortable silence, and the way Oliver was determinedly avoiding eye contact with Cas. _'Way to go Felicity, open mouth insert foot once again. Wonder what's up with the boys? Maybe they had a spat'_she thought, chuckling inwardly at that last thought. She raised her eyebrows when she noticed Cas was smiling to himself and looking over at her out of the corner of his eye. _'Is he giving me the eye? NO, be cool Felicity, god knows what his relationship status is just with Sara, let alone out there in the big wide world, I'll bet he has hundreds of women (and probably men too) falling all over themselves to get at him…Oh wow, I managed to keep one of my word vomit moments in, I think I'm improving!'_

As she was thinking this, Cas spoke up, "Oliver, old friend, I apologise for the silent treatment, I really do. I have been working out how to explain this…aspect…of myself." He spoke haltingly, and if she didn't know better from everything she had seen so far, Felicity would say he was nervous. "I'm amazed you never guessed if I'm totally honest, at least in part. Felicity over here made the connection almost straight away, although she then dismissed it." He shifted his gaze over at her again, but looked right into her eyes this time as he continued. "You've already seen that I am Telekinetic, but that is only part of what I can do…" He ran his fingers through his hair and looked down. _'Wow, he really is nervous. Wait, I made the connection? Oh god, I was right, he can hear my thoughts, which means he's heard every embarrassing and borderline crazy thing I've thought about how hot he is…seriously Felicity, have some self-control'_she reprimanded herself internally, looking at Cas nervously as she did so.  
"You are correct Felicity," he continued after a pause, ignoring Oliver's confused look at his comment to the so far uncharacteristically silent IT expert. "I am Telepathic. I can hear your thoughts." He turned to Oliver at this point and carried on. "Before you say what I know you're going to say, I don't just hear everything everyone is thinking. I usually have to concentrate on a person to hear what they're thinking, unless they are under stress and 'shouting' their thoughts, like your mother was doing this morning."

This was followed by silence. Diggle, who had sat in the corner quietly since they walked in, shivered slightly, but didn't speak. Oliver looked like he was about to say something, when once again, Felicity got their first.  
"Hang on, what about me?" When she saw a look of confusion from both men in front of her, she clarified. "If you have to concentrate to hear thoughts, why do you keep having your little laughs at me? Are you spying on my thoughts, because that would be a bit strange…and entertaining, I'm sure, since for every ramble that I let out there are like 3 or 4 that I keep in, and as you are all aware I seem to think in an endless string of embarrassing innuendos, not that looking at you makes me think of innuendos, or dirty thoughts, or anything in particular, but you would know that I'm lying because you've heard what I'm thinking…wow that's hard to get used to, aaaaand 3, 2, 1, shutting up now."

Cas waited a second for her to calm down and said, "Don't worry Felicity, I haven't been spying on you, your thoughts are just such a jumble they kind of broadcast themselves at all times. Oh, and for the record, never apologise for your rambles, internal or external, they are adorable, and they show a level of honesty that is rare in the modern age."

Oliver decided to take this moment to speak up. "How did this not come out when we were on the island together?" he asked, feeling slightly stupid that he couldn't think of anything better than that to say.

"I never told you this at the time…" Cas began with a sigh, "but I was not on Lian Yu by accident. I placed myself in self-imposed exile, forbidding myself the use of my abilities, 45 years ago, and had been travelling the most remote, uninhabited parts of the world, keeping as far from civilisation as I could, ever since. It was only finding you, Oliver, that made me realise I couldn't hide from my past. Helping you survive, teaching you to be strong, and to find the goodness inside yourself again, was my penance to the world I had failed." He closed his eyes at that point, taking a deep breath. "When I was taken from the island, and ended up in China, with no clue how to find you or get back to help you. I decided instead to do everything I could to help the people around me, to make up for failing you, as I had once failed the world. It was in that time I met Sara," he said this with a wistful look on his face, like he was talking about a wayward child. "She was so lost, like you Oliver, and I tried to help her like I couldn't help you."

He trailed off at that point, cleared his throat and looked around.

"So, Felicity, shall we find this infamous Count that's been giving you such a headache? And Oliver, shouldn't you be at your mother's trial about now?"

There was a moment of stunned quiet, during which all 3 members of Team Arrow digested Cas's sudden mood change, from serious and melancholy to upbeat and joking. Then there was a flurry of movement as Oliver headed towards the stairs, Diggle made to follow him and Felicity started typing.  
"Stay here Digg, you're not well, the vertigo is still in your system." Oliver rounded on his friend and bodyguard sternly. "It's only a trial, I'll be fine. You can go home."  
Diggle looked like he was about to argue, but thought better of it, and moved back to his seat in the corner of the room.

Oliver made his way up the stairs, and all attention was then on Felicity and her screens.  
"So I'm guessing you two have tried screening everyone infected by location?" Cas said, sitting down on the desk so he was mostly facing Felicity, "Home, work etc…"

"Yeah, their homes are scattered all over the place, there is no correlation between…wait, did you say work?" Felicity licked her lips, slightly embarrassed she hadn't thought of that simple variable earlier. She spun back to her keyboard and typed furiously, then looked at the screen. "There's a route across the city…wait, Digg does that look familiar to you?"

"Yep," the so far quiet man replied from his new position behind Felicity. "That's the route the mobile flu shot van takes, I got my shot there a few days ago."  
"Good." Cas spoke first, "I'll go to the courthouse and let Oliver know. We can work out a plan from there. Neither of you do anything stupid while I'm gone" He admonished, pointing a condescending finger at both of them until they nodded. He quickly made his way to the stairs and left the building.

"Uh, Digg," Felicity glanced up from her screens, looking nervous, "I have a location on the flu truck, if we move now we might be able to get a sample of whatever the Count is using in his new brand of Vertigo."

"Alright, I'll go," he replied, standing slowly.

"No no no, you're way too sick. I'll go." He opened his mouth to protest, to tell her it was dangerous, but she stopped him with a raised hand and said "Hey, it's my life, my choice."

Before he could argue, she was gone as well, leaving him alone in the lair.

When Cas reached the courthouse, Oliver was stood in the foyer looking extremely tense.

"How are you doing?" Cas asked, instantly more concerned with his friend's plight than the potential of finding the Count.

"I'm alright," Oliver replied, sounding tired. "Thea gave her deposition, but I don't think it went so well, and then my mother gave hers, and we think there might be a verdict soon. That can't be good.

Cas placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Try not to worry too much, your mother seemed truly repentant for her part, inside and out, and I guarantee that came across to the jury today."

"Thank you," Oliver replied, then looked up curiously "What are you doing here? Not that I don't appreciate the support."

As Cas was about to reply Oliver's phone started to ring. Cas couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, but he felt Oliver's reaction. Anger. He listened into what he was thinking, and he saw that the Count had kidnapped Felicity as she was attempting to steal a sample of Vertigo. Cas rolled his eyes and turned to leave as Oliver ended the call.

"I have to go to the office," he said absently to Thea as he turned to leave.

Before she could react, Cas spun on the spot and put a hand on Oliver's chest, stopping him.

"No, stay here, be with your family. I will handle this." He turned again, and strode quickly from the building, muttering to himself, "I _told_ her not to do anything stupid."

As Cas reached the top floor of Queen Consolidated, he reached out with his mind, scanning for Felicity and her would-be kidnapper. He felt two mental signatures in Oliver's office, and as he got closer, he reached out and implanted a thought into both of their heads. _I am not here._

He strode quietly into the room, surveying the situation. Felicity was tied to a chair, she looked terrified, and the Count was strolling around her, running his fingers along her arms and through her hair. After wrinkling his nose in disgust, Cas decided on a plan of action.

He stepped forward, dropping the illusion of invisibility, and instead implanted a new thought. _I am the Arrow, I am to be feared._

The Count's head snapped up as Cas materialised in front of him. He looked like Oliver, but taller, more imposing, and giving off an air of fear that Felicity couldn't explain. Instead of running away, as most men would, the Count pulled a pistol and shot at Cas. '_I forgot he was insane, I guess the usual scare tactic won't work.'_Cas thought as he slowed the bullet's path with his mind and calmly stepped out of its way. As he did so, the Count cut Felicity loose and pulled her against him, retrieving a needle from his pocket.

"Time for plan B," he cackled, with a mad look in his eye. "I demanded the Arrow, not an underling, now he will lose his precious computer girl."

The madman raised the syringe to Felicity's neck, and Cas _pushed_ ever so gently on it. Its path changed, and plunged into the Count's own neck. He let go of Felicity and she dropped to the floor, while he fell against the window.

"Felicity," Cas rushed over to her, cupping her cheeks and checking she was unharmed. "It's me, you're safe now."

"Oh Cas, I'm sorry. I got myself into trouble, as always. Thank you for coming for me." She was shaking, on the edge of tears, but she managed to keep an even tone as she asked, "What are we going to do with him? I assume you called the police."

Cas nodded, then stood and moved towards the Count, who looked like nothing more than any other drug addict.

"He'll go back to jail, but I need to fix something first. He surprised me with that bullet, and I dropped my illusion. He's seen who I am, and what I can do, and I can't have that." His tone was cold, chilling, and for a second Felicity was sure he was going to kill the man. Then he took the Count's head between his hands and spoke, looking into his eyes. "You will forget my face, everything you saw here tonight. You are still insane, after kidnapping Mr Queen's assistant, you injected yourself with Vertigo. Do you understand?" "Yes," he replied, with a faraway look, "I'm still insane, I did this to myself."

And with that, he sat by the wall quietly and started babbling incoherently. It was horrifying to see, as if when Cas had spoken, the man had genuinely gone insane. Felicity recoiled slightly at the thought, but then Cas was next to her, and she felt a wave of calm wash over her. She looked up at him and saw he was smiling.

"What did I tell you about doing something stupid?" He helped her stand, keeping on arm around her waist, holding her up. _'And close, wow he's close to me´_ she thought in a haze. _'He's even prettier this close…I wonder what would happen if I just lent forwards and...'_She shook herself at that, _'Seriously Felicity, you are a strong, confident, intelligent woman, you do not hopelessly moon over a man, well except Oliver…oh god he can hear this, he knows I'm thinking about kissing him, quick think something else.'_

"Felicity, why are you writing polynomial equations in your head?" he inquired innocently, as if he had no idea, but giving her a wink to let her know he did. He then turned her to face him fully, and placed a hand on her cheek, the other still at her waist, "You are an incredible young woman Felicity, you really are, but what you're thinking would be a bad idea for you, trust me. If you think Oliver is brooding, damaged and emotionally closed off, just add 1800 years of life experience, most of it painful, and you'll have some idea of who I really am." He paused and looked away. "Come on, let's get you home."

* * *

As he drove her home, she decided asking where he got a top of the range Lexus was not the most important topic at that precise moment, she also dismissed her nagging thought that she had no idea where he lived, or what he did, or anything besides his name and his _powers_.  
_'He's a freaking super hero, wow, I'm getting a lift home from a genuine superhero.'_

"I'm no hero Felicity, but I'll accept super." He looked at her briefly, before returning his eyes to the road. "Go ahead, ask me the question that's eating away at you, I know you want to."

She knew exactly what he meant, and for once she didn't have a smart comeback, so she bit the bait and asked, "What did you do to the Count?"

"Well my dear, let's just say my…mental capabilities…aren't limited to hearing thoughts in people's heads." He looked at her then, really looked. He could see she wasn't afraid, but also that she wouldn't be satisfied with such a vague response.  
"Do you keep tea at home?" He asked, which surprised her slightly until he added, "I'd like to give you the full explanation, but it isn't short, and I would love a nice hot cup of tea." He turned to her again and raised an eyebrow. She responded with a cheeky smirk and just said "I've got tea, but I expect all the details."

He grinned as he carried on driving. _'This girl is going to be a handful'_he thought, _'then again, the best ones are.'__  
_***************************************************************************

**Cliffhanger, what's his deal really?****  
****I hope you folks enjoyed the first short snippet of Cas's POV. I look forward to any and all feedback you have for me!**

**I'm going to aim for a chapter a day, but if I slip toward the end of the week, fear not, I am having a quiet weekend at the coast so I will catch up again by Sunday!**

**All the best!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello folks, daily chapter incoming. I've had some excellent feedback that really helped me shape where this chapter needs to go! It'll be mostly Felicity's POV, as I want to keep Cas a bit of a mystery for now (he's my brainchild after all, my pride and joy!)**

**As always, let me know what you think!**

Chapter 4 – A nice cup of tea and a sit down

Felicity ambled into her apartment as she always did, kicking her shoes off at the door, dropping her bag by her shoe rack and heading towards the kitchen to put the coffee maker on. _'And the kettle, the old man wants his tea'_she thought with a smile, looking back at her guest. He strode into the apartment, making even the simple act of walking look graceful.

It was more obvious in her small apartment just how much of an imposing presence this man had. She could feel an almost physical pressure radiating from him as he casually walked around her living room, stopping to look at pictures or pick up a magazine. She mentally shook herself and turned back to the drinks she was making.

She was just finishing making her coffee and was about to pour the tea, when Cas appeared behind her, making her jump slightly.

"God, you're as bad as Oliver, moving like some kind of freaky ninja person, like Ruth Gordon just standing there with a tanis root, make a noise!"

"Rosemary's baby," he replied with a grin. "I'm surprised, you have good taste. I actually saw that in a movie theatre off Sunset Boulevard in 1968." His eyes took on that wistful look that Felicity was beginning to realise he did every time he got lost in old memories. "Also I didn't mean to sneak up on you, I just thought I'd finish off my tea, I'm very specific with how I like it. May I?" The last was said with a raised eyebrow, one hand outstretched to take the kettle from her. She shrugged, handed it over and sat down on the sofa, waiting patiently for him to join her. _'As patiently as I can be. This guy is a mystery, and the mystery needs solving!'_

He finished tinkering with his tea and made his way slowly towards her, taking a moment to pick up a coaster and place it carefully on her coffee table before putting the drink down. He then sat, legs crossed, one arm draped over the back of the sofa, the picture of casual sophistication. It was only then Felicity noticed what he was wearing. Gone was the suit from when they first met. Instead he wore a casual V neck sweatshirt over a dark shirt, collar open, navy jeans,_'nicely cut as well'_Felicity noticed, her eye wandering, and a pair of suede boots. When combined with his haircut, which was identical to when she first saw him, he did look like an older man. _'No, not old as such, just out of place, like he belongs in a different time.'_Felicity thought idly.

"So, my dear, you stated you wished to know everything," Cas began, interrupting her thoughts, "where would you like to start?"

"What did you do to the Count?!" Felicity replied without hesitation, "one minute he's going all 'evil mastermind with a hostage' and the next he's babbling incoherently like a crazy person."

She looked concerned as she said it, and Cas's explanation did not exactly make her feel better.

"Oh that's easy," Cas responded, taking a sip of his tea, "You already know I can hear people's thoughts when I concentrate, _pull_ thoughts out of their head, if you will. That works both ways…"

"You can put ideas in people's heads?" Felicity asked, licking her lips and darting her eyes nervously, "What does that mean exactly? That doesn't explain what you did to him"

"Of course, apologies, it's just I haven't had to explain this to anyone in a long time…ok, I have an example to illustrate it. When I walked into Oliver's office, I pushed a thought into both yours and the Count's heads, a simple thought telling your minds that I wasn't there. Did you see me walk in?" he inquired, and Felicity realised she was supposed to respond.

"No, but I was kinda distracted what with the psychopath having his hands all over me in that creepy way." She shivered

His face took on a look of concern, and just like when it had happened, she felt the fear ebb away, being replaced by a calm feeling.

"Are you doing that as well?" She asked suspiciously. "Are you in my head right now, telling me to calm down? Coz…its kinda working." She said the last part sheepishly, as if she was embarrassed to admit needing help calming down.

"Not quite my dear. Pushing a thought, as I like to call it, forces a perception or action. The example you wanted relating to the Count was that I forced the thoughts you heard me say out loud to him. As far as his mind was concerned, he had stabbed himself, and he was insane. Don't worry," he said noticing the look of alarm on her face, "I didn't break his brain or literally send him mad, or anything so extreme, he just believes he's mad, and so he will act that way until the thought dissipates. Hopefully by that point he will be either in prison or a psychiatric institute, and it won't matter.

They lapsed into silence at that, Felicity trying to work out what she wanted to ask next, when something occurred to her.

"If, um, you…wanted to," she began, nerves rising as she realised what she was asking. "Could you legitimately send someone insane?"

"Yes," he replied simply. "Does that scare you?"

She swallowed loudly. "Nope," she said unconvincingly. But it was true, it wasn't the fact that he had this power that scared her, it was the grave tone he used as he said that simple word, like he was admitting to being some sort of a monster. "No," she tried again, stronger this time, "Why would it scare me, any more than Oliver having big biceps would. Just because he's big, strong and well trained doesn't mean he would use that to hurt me. Why should your power be any different, just because it's a bit more…supernatural."

He seemed to visibly relax at this, his look showing silent thanks at her acceptance. She decided a change of topic would be a good idea, so she asked the next thing that came to mind.

"Why do I keep having so many wayward thoughts about you?" she blurted out, paused, then carried on, "I mean, not that you're not attractive, you are…freakishly so, I mean you're not freakish, just hot…although your powers are pretty crazy…crazy awesome I mean, not crazy, or freakish…but yeah," she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then continued, "I am not the kind of girl who goes for just any hot guy, especially one who has slept with one of my best friends! And yet, I'm having these constant thoughts, it's really out of character for me, and I don't know why…" he raised a hand to stop a second verbal tirade, a smile ghosting across his lips before he squashed it.

"Well noticed, most people aren't emotionally aware enough to question that feeling. It relates to what you asked a moment ago, about calming you down. For some reason, people tend to be naturally more…open around me. Open and comfortable. In instances of stress, this can manifest in feeling calm, safe and content. In some situations, it can manifest as physical attraction." He stopped there, waiting for her to respond.

"So people around you just automatically feel attracted to you, and you have no control over it whatsoever?" He nodded, "Wow, that must come in really handy, not that you need a super power for people to be attracted to you…I have got to stop going on about that…my point is, is there a downside to that?"

He chuckled and did the 'old memory' face, _'patent pending'_ she thought wryly, "Remind me when we have more time to tell you about when I was meant to infiltrate a small German village in 1943 and got chased through the streets by screaming civilians…not all of them female" he added with a wink.

"I bet that didn't bother you…that they weren't all female, coz you seem to like both…I assume, I'm assuming, though now I say it out loud I'm not entirely sure why..." she trailed off and wrung her hands before looking back up and asking, "So what happened with you and Oliver on the island?"

Cas looked confused for a second at the sudden change of topic, then realisation dawned on him and he laughed. "Oh Felicity, he doesn't…he and I never had anything more than friendship," she looked relieved for a second before getting hold of herself, "He was lost in darkness and despair, and I had been alone for quite literally decades. We helped each other, we grew close… and there were some physical elements to our friendship, since you asked, but he doesn't really fly that way." He shrugged self-consciously.

"Oh, ok, I kinda understand, so you two got close because you were alone together for a long time and you helped each other. I get it." She bit her lip before carrying on, not sure how to phrase what she knew would be the more awkward question. "What about Sara, what's the history with you two?"

Cas looked like he was trying to supress a grin, "That girl is trouble and beauty and fire all rolled into one." His tone was fond, and Felicity could tell he really cared about her. "I met her in Saudi Arabia, like she said, when she was on a mission for the League, I was recovering from the madness that was Lian Yu. We bumped into one another and for some reason she told me all about herself…well, herself since joining the League…at that point she was very much theirs. She didn't care about her former life in the slightest, she was entirely focused on the next kill." He gave a heavy sigh, "It may have been my ability to make people feel open around me, I'm not sure, but for whatever reason, she trusted me, and took me to Nanda Parbat. I stayed there for almost 3 months, and in that time we developed something of a physical relationship. She needed companionship at the time, and I provided that for her. I left after I bargained with Ra's al Ghul for her freedom, went to Sudan to fulfil the contract he gave me, and never looked back."

"Didn't you go back for her?" Felicity looked confused at this, "You seem really into her, why would you just leave?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, and paused before speaking, as if considering his words.

"Partly because I was almost certain she would be gone. When you're granted freedom from the League of Assassins, you take it and run. Little did I know Ra's went back on his side of our bargain, and she escaped anyway." He spoke calmly, but she could see fire in his eyes when he mentioned the infamous head of the League. "That's not the only reason though. You must understand Felicity, I don't have romantic relationships, at least not long ones…" when she cocked her head to the side in confusion he elaborated. "People grow old. They live, they get old, and they die. I don't, I live on. Alone. That is my curse."

Silence stretched between them after that, Felicity felt more than a little uncomfortable at the very personal admission the man in front of her had made. She didn't want to pry further, guessing from the look on his face that this was not a topic he liked discussing, but as always her mouth spoke without a go ahead from her brain.

"Have you never had a real relationship? And by real I mean the mushy, cute, can't take your mind off them, wanting to spend every second in each other's blissful presence, all-consuming love kind."

"Once," he replied, and the sadness in his voice made her choke up slightly. "A long time ago."

He sounded like he was going to stop there, but her curiousity took over.

"Will you tell me about her…or him, sorry I didn't assume it was a her, coz again, hello, you like both. Was it a her?" She stopped herself and waited.

It was a full minute before he looked back at her and spoke.

"Yes, it was a her." His eyes drifted and his mouth turned up at the corners. "Her name was Caterina Weiβ. She lived in Germany, near Dusseldorf. Her family owned a manor in the countryside. I was travelling across Europe, mostly out of boredom, when I happened to be passing through her local town, on a day that she had come to market." The turned up corners had become a full grin as he continued.

"I remember the moment I saw her, ambling between the storefronts, humming to herself. She had blonde hair that fell down her back and startling blue eyes. And she was tall, almost as tall as me, with the fairest skin I had ever seen. I remember thinking I had never seen a vision so stunning, I had to know this person. I went over, politely introduced myself as was the custom then, and we began to talk. And just like that, centuries of loneliness just seemed to drop away. She was like a reset button on life."

"Wow," was all Felicity could think to say, then her brain re-engaged. "She sounds amazing, uh, when was this? And what happened between you guys?

He decided to answer her questions in reverse order. "She died," he said sadly, "and this was in the summer of 1892."  
"Oh god, when you put it like that I see what you mean. Were you together a long time? Wait, is she the reason you exiled yourself to the wastelands of the world in the 60s?" She clamped her mouth shut, afraid she had asked too much, but he didn't leave, as she thought he might, or even get angry, he just answered her questions.

"No, we were together 12 years." She noticed the heavy, sad look had returned and she lifted her hand towards him, about to say it was okay, he didn't have to tell her, but he carried on. "In 1904, we were travelling along the Ivory Coast, hiking, camping, whatever took our fancy. It was bliss, like an extended honeymoon. That is until we found ourselves across the border into Senegal and a German patrol spotted us. They gunned us down without a word and moved on. I was lucky to survive, Caterina wasn't so lucky."

More awkward silence followed, hanging thick in the air between them. Felicity fully reached out to him then, and he pulled her into a hug, his head on her shoulder. She sat there with him for what felt like hours, he didn't make a sound, or move, he just held her close. As he pulled away, something occurred to her.

"Why didn't you use your powers?" he looked at her, bemused. "When those soldiers shot at you I mean. I saw you stop that bullet at QC. Why didn't you do that back then?

"I did try Felicity, but my powers as they are now are a relatively recent thing. All I had back then was centuries of experience, a bit of mind reading ability and some charm. Turns out that doesn't stop bullets." The last was said drily, with a sarcastic look and a raised eyebrow.

She was going to continue the questioning, but her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, seeing a message from Oliver. He was worried about her, and wanted to come by and make sure she was okay.

She turned to tell Cas, but he was already halfway to the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked, until she realised. "You read the text from Oliver in my head didn't you?"

He ignored her less than impressed look and said "You really need to learn to quieten your thoughts Felicity, I can't help hearing loud things with my mind any more than I can with my ears." His tone softened and he added, "I think it's best if I let Oliver do his bit of looking after you. Knowing I saved you instead of him must be eating him up inside. He feels so responsible for you after all. I'll see you soon, and you can finish your _interrogation_ then." He winked as he over-pronounced the word interrogation, and she blushed slightly. _'He makes the weirdest things sound flirty.'_

He stepped out the door, closing it quietly behind himself, and before she could sit and take in everything they had talked about, there was a gentle knock at her window.  
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**So I hope that clears things up a bit, but also leaves you guys wondering where the hell I'm going with this whole thing!**

**As always, please let me know any feedback you have, and I will endeavour to take it onboard as I progress!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok guys and gals, I'm aiming for a bit more action in this one, but Cas's history will still play a part.**

**I haven't had any reviews on the last couple of chapters, which I presume is good, and that you're all enjoying what I'm posting, but if anyone has any feedback or criticism, or anything, please do leave a review or message me!**

**Anywho, on with the next chapter.**

Chapter 5 – Mirakuru

The next time Felicity saw her favourite mysterious Brit, _'Roman' _she corrected herself, idly wondering where the British accent had come from, was days later. He was making his way down the foundry stairs as Oliver was leaning over her shoulder, questioning her on the recent break-in at QC Applied Sciences.  
"So you and Mr Allen are going to go over the crime scene in more detail?" Oliver was asking as Cas approached silently. Oliver turned to greet him, earning a confused look from Felicity until Cas spoke and she jumped.  
"Good afternoon kids, how was crime fighting while I was gone?" His words gave away the mocking smirk that would be on his face even before Felicity turned in her chair to glare at him.  
"Will you not do that, I'm going to have a heart attack at this rate!"  
Cas raised his hands in mock surrender, smirk still firmly in place. "Sorry, can't help it, I'm just a quiet person. Try being more aware of your surroundings, Oliver noticed I was there."

She crossed her arms, deciding she was going to sulk slightly, more because after their very personal talk the previous week, he had vanished, and this was the first time she had seen him since, than because he had mocked her.

If Oliver noticed any tension between them, he chose to ignore it. "Crime has been down the last few days, that is until someone broke into Queen Consolidated and stole something, killing the security guards." Oliver looked pained by this, and Cas put a comforting hand on his shoulder as he continued. "We just got back from having a look at the scene, and Felicity is going back with a CSI from Central City to try to find out who it was."

"Sounds thrilling," Cas replied, his tone seemed uninterested, but Felicity caught him trying to look at her screen out of the corner of his eye. "What're you going to do while she's gone? I don't recall you being the sit and wait type."

"I'm going to do my job as CEO and keep Ms Rochev from taking my company out from under me."

"Good idea, I might stay down here if it's all the same to you, you have such a good setup for fitness, I thought I'd have a bit of a workout."

He was looking at the salmon ladder and the training dummy as he spoke, again sounding nonchalant, and once again Felicity had to squash an image flashing through her head of him shirtless working out at the intensity Oliver usually did. _'Oh please Felicity, he's nowhere near big enough for that. Come to think of it, I didn't know he worked out…and I STILL have no idea where he lives, or what he does, or anything! What did we talk about last week again? Oh yeah, super powers and long dead loves.' _She sighed, grabbing her bag and heading out. Oliver followed closely behind, but as he reached the top of the stairs, he looked over his shoulder and saw Cas in Felicity's chair watching the security feed from the break-in. He was about to question this, when his phone buzzed and he saw it was Isobel. She did not sound happy. He dismissed his question and left.

* * *

When Felicity and Barry had worked out that the thief was driving a specific van, and then tracked the van, Oliver declared he was going to head it off and take down the thief. Cas gave a quiet "I wouldn't do that," from where he was pounding the training dummy across the room, but Oliver was already halfway up the stairs.

Felicity watched him absently while Oliver's comm buzzed lightly in her ear. _'Guess I was wrong,' _she thought, _'He's definitely in shape. Not like Oliver, or Digg with his bowling ball biceps, but he looks after himself.'_  
Just as she was about to make a potentially embarrassing comment, Oliver's voice came over the comm. _'Saved by the bell' _she thought, until she realised what Oliver was saying. The masked thief had thrown him out of the van, he was injured and coming back to the lair.

Felicity sat him down and started tending his cuts and bruises after he came back and quickly changed out of the Arrow outfit. Cas just watched quietly, lost in thought.  
"You were right, to ask if I knew more than I was letting on." Oliver began after pulling his hoodie on over his bruised ribs. "I've seen men with abilities like that before."  
At this comment Cas's head snapped up, a look of complete shock on his face.  
"You have? Where?" Felicity asked, knowing everyone present was thinking the same question.  
"The island," he started to explain, "My second year marooned there, I came across the remains of a Japanese WWII military project, it was a serum designed to make human weapons.  
Diggle scoffed and was about to speak, when a single word ripped from Cas's throat, as if involuntarily, and Felicity couldn't help but notice his tone held nothing short of pure dread.

_"Mirakuru."_

Oliver looked confused and tried to carry on speaking, but Cas stepped up to him so quickly Felicity jumped slightly, and he almost spat, "Why did you never tell me of this?! In all of our time together on Lian Yu, how did you hide this from me?"  
"I don't know," Oliver replied, trying to remain calm with the other man standing over him, looking threatening. "But everyone who was injected with it is dead, and the last of the serum I burned."

Cas slumped onto a nearby stool.  
"I'm sorry my friend. When I saw the security footage of the break in, it took me back to something that happened during the war that I had hoped was dead and buried. When you mentioned the submarine on Lian Yu, it all fit together. How can it be possible?" The last was said almost to himself, eyes looking skyward.

After a moment, he turned back to the group, taking a deep breath, he spoke. "I suppose there's no sense keeping it secret now. During World War Two, I was part of an underground British Government project to create human weapons. The project was a direct response to the Japanese Mirakuru project. I was the only subject to survive, and the scientists believed it was because of my already Supernatural nature. That experiment is what enhanced my abilities to the level they are at now, the Telepathy and Telekinesis at least." He stopped at this point and let out a heavy breath. "I was then placed in Division 6, a branch of Allied Secret Intelligence that specialised in high profile and superhuman targets. I fought a number of the Mirakuru soldiers, and they were terrifying. It took every bit of cunning I possessed to stop them, and there were always more."  
"In 1944, out of sheer desperation, the head of Division 6 dispatched me, alone, to Japan, to find where the Mirakuru was being produced, and destroy it. I was also to kill anyone who knew how to make it, and steal any and all research they had. I only failed on the final count." His eyes took on a haunted look, and Felicity covered her mouth in shock at the implication that he had indiscriminately slaughtered civilian researchers, even if it was for a good reason.

Cas drew a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, the hardness Felicity had seen when they first met had returned.  
"Oliver, if you go after this thief again, I am going with you. This serum is still in existence because of _my _mistake. I will fix it." His tone was adamant, leaving no room to argue.

"That's all well and good Cas, but until we figure out what the thief wants, we'll never find him." Felicity calmly reminded him.

"A centrifuge and a large supple of blood; I think he wants to make more of it. A lot more." Oliver stated, "There's a third component required." He looked at Cas as he said this, as realisation dawned on the other man's face.

"The sedative." Cas jumped up from his stool. "So if we figure out what sedative the thief is using, we can figure out where the last robbery will be!"

Oliver handed Felicity an arrow that had pierced the thief's thigh. "I need you to analyse the blood on here."

"You know Oliver, I kinda prefer when you leave these in people." Felicity said with a look of mild distate. "Barry and I will get right on that."

After Felicity was gone, Oliver started questioning Digg quietly about Barry Allen, and Cas went back over to the training area.

* * *

Oliver and Cas stepped off the elevator at QC, noticing Felicity and Barry talking with their heads together. They were both smiling, and Oliver just caught the tail end of the conversation.

"That data is...misleading." Barry was saying as they approached.  
"Well you would know about misleading wouldn't you _Barry" _Cas groaned as Oliver dived straight in, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

"What do you mean?" Felicity asked quietly.

"He's not a full CSI, he's an assistant, whos boss doesn't know he's in Starling. Oh and there is no similar case in Central City, so Barry..." Oliver's just dropped and he quietly finished, "What are you really doing here?"

Barry looked down at that, and then looked Felicity sadly, "Remember I told you my mom was murdered...?"

"By your father," Oliver cut in, Cas had his palm against his forehead, clearly embarrassed for his friend, but not speaking.

"He didn't do it!" Barry shot back vehemently. "The police think he did, they didn't believe me."

"About what?" Felicity asked

Barry paused, appearing to gather his thoughts. "I was 11, something just came into our house like a tornado, and when I went near it...I was 20 blocks from my house. Nobody believed me, they just thought I was covering for my dad, but what I saw that night was real.

Cas took a step towards him, placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him pointedly in the eye. "I believe you," he said. "Don't ask me why, but I know you're right. I sincerely hope you find the truth someday. And I apologise for Oliver, he can be a bit...hotheaded sometimes." He glared at Oliver as he said that.

"Thanks, but I should probably go." Barry said sadly. He turned to Felicity, "Guess you need a new plus one."

* * *

Oliver walked down the stairs into the main foyer with his mother and sister, and was welcomed by the sight of Felicity in a stunning evening gown. Her hair was down, he noticed, and she turned as they approached.

"Good evening Queens. Oliver can I talk to you for a second?"

As they moved to one side, Felicity saw Cas walk through the door.

"I'm sorry if I over reacted, a bit, earlier."

"Uh, ya think," Felicity replied, cutting over him, and Cas gave her a quiet "Quite right girl" as he walked past her. "Look Oliver, right now the one you need to apologise to is your mother.

"For what?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"Being wrong."

She led him into the main room and he noticed how empty it was. His heart sank.

"This isn't your fault Ollie," Thea told him as she walked past and headed towards Roy. Oliver carried on looking around the room as his assistant stepped away.

Felicity was stood awkwardly at the edge of the empty dancing area feeling awkward when Oliver sidled up next to her.

"Care to dance?" he asked softly.

"No offense Oliver, but I really don't feel like dancing with you." As she said this, she clocked Cas talking quietly to Isabel Rochev in the corner near the bar. _'I didn't know they knew each other, huh, I guess I can ask him about it later.' _she thought absently.

"I know," Oliver replied smoothly, "And that's why I called him." He turned as he said this, and Felicity followed his gaze.

There stood Barry, awkward and dorky in his suit. Oliver stepped away for a drink as the younger man took Felicity into his arms and they swayed slightly.

As Oliver approached the bar, he was joined by both Isabel and Cas.

"Oliver, I am sorry about your party." Isabel offered halfheartedly. "I tried to warn you."

"I tried to ignore you," Oliver replied calmly, seeing the glint of humour in his friend's eye.

"Will you both excuse me," Cas said politely as Moira approached. He made his way across the floor to where the young pair were dancing awkwardly.

"May I cut in?" Cas asked from beside Barry.

"Um, sure. Oh hey, thanks for what you said earlier. It means a lot to have someone just believe me, pretty much no one ever does." Barry professed, running a hand through his hair.

"Think nothing of it, there are things in this world that defy explanation. To dismiss them out of hand despite all of the evidence in front of you would be foolish." Felicity was grateful Cas was being considerate of Barry, especially after Oliver's earlier tirade.

Then Cas pulled her into his arms and they danced. It was still a slow piece, but unlike with Barry, Cas could _really_ dance. Felicity knew she herself had never been much of a dancer, her clumsiness in other areas did apply to dance it seemed, but when he led her, she almost believed she was a good dancer. She wondered where he had learned, when he spoke softly in her ear.

"Centuries of practise," he answered her unspoken question as it was forming in her head.

"You know, you could at least wait until the question reaches the out loud stage, if not for my sake, then for the sake of everyone around us not thinking you're a crazy person talking to himself." Felicity clamped her mouth shut, _Why is it he always speaks so eloquently, and seems to know exactly what to say, and how to say it, and I'm stuck sounding like a dork most of the time?'_

"You are not a 'dork' Felicity," Cas said quietly, "Sorry, I know, I should have waited, but I'm fairly sure that one was never going to make it to the _out loud stage _as you put it, and I thought it important you are aware. Your combination of shy awkwardness and brutal honesty, with just a hint of innuendo, is really quite charming. I consider it one of your greater assets, and you should too."

"Oh really, any more of my assets you've noticed?" She replied coquettishly, before realising what she had said and shutting her eyes muttering, "3, 2..."

Cas's finger on her lips stopped her counting.

"What did I just say? You can speak freely to me, no censoring yourself. I can read your mind remember, I will generally understand what you're trying to say no matter how it comes out." He deliberately looked down at her as he continued. "As for your other assets, where would you like me to begin? Physical? Or mental?"

"Oh, I, um, your choice," she blushed furiously. _'He's either freakishly confident, or he really doesn't care what people think of him. I mean who just comes out and tells someone they have nice assets, then gives them a list? This guy apparently...' _her inner monologue trailed off as she looked up at him.

_"Felicity, you are absolutely riveting, your ability to tear apart technology without a second thought is nothing short of incredible. You have a true gift."_

She blushed even further at this, and began to look away when she realised his mouth hadn't moved the entire time she was hearing his compliment.

"Did you just talk in my head?" She said, louder than she intended, and he coughed loudly to try and cover it up.

_"Yes," _he said silently, indicating she don't speak.

_"So we can talk in our heads?" _she thought, attempting to think at him somehow, her brow furrowed in concentration.

_"We can, which is convenient because Oliver is behind you watching us like a hawk, and I feel he wouldn't approve of what I am planning to say next."_

_"And what's that?" She kept his gaze, not making a sound, as they conversed silently._

_"That I have not experienced anyone as stunning or compelling as you in over a hundred years, if ever. You are a gem Felicity, in every way, and you don't seem to realise that, which is a shame. So this is me, telling you." _His thoughts were simple, soft, and warm, and Felicity couldn't help but start to believe him.

_"I...I don't know what to say," _she realised she had dropped her gaze, heat rising in her cheeks, and she made herself raise it again, _"You're an amazing guy Cas, I'm glad you appeared in Starling when you did, things in our lives could've been much worse without you."_

Oliver cleared his throat nearby, he had made his way closer without Felicity noticing.

"You two seem to be enjoying yourselves, but the party is winding down." He gave Cas a look Felicity didn't recognise, and he stepped back without a word.

"Perhaps I could drive you home." Cas said, not really as a question.

"As long as by home you mean QC, the sample of sedative should be almost ready."

"Well then, lets go."

* * *

They reached QC and saw that Barry had already arrived. He seemed to have just finished a very serious phone call, and was turning to leave as they approached.

"Oh hey, um, so I have to get back, my boss found out I'm not sick and that I skipped town, so I have to get the next train if I want to remain employed. Which I do." Barry rambled awkwardly. "The sedative is ketamine, so you can get the info to the authorities and it shouldn't be hard to track."

He and Felicity shared a look as he was leaving. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned to Cas, her face suddenly all business.

"We need to get back to the lair.

20 minutes later they were walking into the Foundry to see Oliver and Digg already there. Felicity started explaining about the ketamine and how there was only one place the thief could be going, a disaster bunker in the Glades.

Oliver stepped over to his bow and grabbed it, before heading towards his suit.

"Oliver, given how this arrowhead is bent, his muscles must have the density of common concrete. Your arrows will wound him, but the _will not_ stop him." Felicity warned, sounding concerned and slightly scared.

He gave her a grave look, "I've beaten men like this before, I can do it again."

"And this time, I'll be there to save his sorry arse." Cas added, a little too lightly for Felicity's liking. '_He's worried' _she thought, not sure how she was so certain of that.

"Be careful, both of you" Felicity implored

"Oliver..." Diggle spoke up from the monitors, pointing to the small arrowhead in the alley.

"I'll handle that." Oliver growled.

"I'll meet you at the bunker then, gotta take care of something." Cas said suddenly, almost running for the door.

* * *

Moira was pouring herself a drink, trying to remain calm when she heard him enter the room.

"I thought it wouldn't hurt to have extra security." She said without turning.

"It hurt _them_," Malcolm replied, tossing two guns to the floor. "Have you prepared Thea?"

Before Moira could answer, the door across the room opened and Cas stepped in.

"Good evening Moira, I hope I'm not interrupting." She opened her mouth as if to tell him in no uncertain terms he was interrupting, and to firmly ask why he was in her house at this hour, but he carried on before she could speak. "I couldn't help but overhear your plight regarding Mr Merlyn here, and it was obvious you were worried about something serious. I must say I was surprised that an ex League Assassin was paying you a visit."

He turned to Malcolm at that point, which looked like he had seen a ghost.

"How can you be here, the last I heard, Ra's sent you to die." His tone was harsh, anger laced with a hint of fear.

"Ah I see, so he _did _intend for me to fail that mission, that is good to know." John replied smoothly, "It is, however, irrelevant to the situation at hand."

He then raised a hand towards him. Malcolm buckled at the knees and screwed his eyes up as if he was in intense pain.

"You will not threaten, or approach the Queen family again." His voice had taken on a dark, menacing tone. Moira stepped back as he spoke. "You will leave Starling City immediately. If you return, I will kill you."

Malcolm relaxed then, as if an imaginary hand crushing his head had just relaxed its grip. Cas turned back to Moira then.

"Oh by the way, if I'm not threat enough, Moira has informed Ra's that you are alive. I suggest you run, run fast and run far, because he will find you."

Moira watched as Malcolm staggered out, unadulterated terror in his eyes.

"Are you alright Moira?" Cas asked gently, reminding her in a way of Walter when he was concerned for her. "Don't worry, I doubt he will be returning for Thea any time soon. If I may offer a piece of advice before I depart, you should tell your children the truth. It may hurt them, but they will inevitably find out from somewhere, and that will be infinitely worse." She began to protest, but he stopped her, immediately answering what she was about to say, "It won't be from me, although by all rights I should tell Oliver. I will leave it with you, out of respect."

He walked away before she could find the words to reply. She sank to the sofa, shaking, and drained her drink in a single gulp, not entirely sure that the quick sequence of events that she just witnessed had actually occured.

Cas placed his earpiece in as he left the mansion, Felicity's voice immediately sounding in his ear.

"Cas hurry, Oliver has already gone in against the thief."

Cursing quietly, Cas put his foot down. _I'm gonna have to mind control my way out of a few tickets this time, I just hope I get to him in time."_

He reached the bunker and heard the distinct sounds of fighting, a bow being drawn and the grunts of hand to hand combat. He reached out mentally, as was his habit, and found 2 minds. One full of anger, with a strong undercurrent of fear, the other consumed with bloodthirsty rage, so strong it made Cas flinch. He couldn't help but picture the Japanese soliders he had killed who's minds were the same. _I had to literally drop an entire building on one of them' _he thought, frustration already taking hold, _'I hope this one isn't as tough."_

He threw the doors open with a gesture as he approached, and caught a glimpse of Oliver being thrown into a crate. The man he was fighting jumped towards him with blinding speed, too fast for most people to follow. _I'm not most people, _was all Cas thought as he pulled a girder down onto the man. It barely phased him, simply getting his attention. Luckily that was all Cas needed, seeing Oliver trying to recover.

As the man advanced towards Cas, he pulled shelves and crates down on his head from either side. It slowed him, but there was no visible damage that Cas could see. He grunted with frustration as he raised a hand and pulled ten arrows from Oliver's quiver, hovering them behind the behemoth of a man while he distracted him with more boxes and debris.

Just as they were within 10ft of one another, Cas launched the arrows. They lanced into the unknown attacker's back, _'Two in the arms, two in the legs, one in the neck' _he told himself as the arrows stunned the man for a second. Cas used the moment to hit the man's mind with a blast of mental power, intended to cause the same pain it had caused Malcolm. He underestimated his opponent though, and his punishment was to be shoulder barged against the wall by the doors he entered through.

He tried to catch his breath and keep attacking, but the man had turned back to Oliver, picking him up by the throat and smashing him through a particularly large, so far untouched crate. As Cas lost consciousness, the man walked away.

This was how Felicity and Digg found them, Cas slowly coming to. Oliver completely out for the count with needles in his legs.

* * *

**Phew that one was weird to write! I could definitely do with some feedback on this one, I'm not sure if it comes across how I want it to...**

**Otherwise, I'll have another couple of chapters ready for you over the weekend. Thanks for reading! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Nice to know people are enjoying what I'm putting out each day :)**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 6 – My Dark Side

Cas came to suddenly, bolting upright, his years of military training kicking in. His head throbbed slightly from the sudden movement, but he didn't think there was any serious damage done.

He took in his surroundings and realised he was back in the lair. He noticed Felicity, Diggle and Barry rushing around an unconscious Oliver.

At the same time, he flexed his mental sense. Nobody else was nearby, the club upstairs was empty.

Without a word, he stood up and made his way over to the desk where his shirt and jacket had been discarded. He realised his chest was bare, and looking down at the bruising across his abdomen, he assumed one or both of Felicity and Diggle had checked him over.

"Where do you think you're going mister?" Felicity's voice echoed behind him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. '_Why did she have to choose now to become aware of her surroundings' _he thought as he turned to see all three of them looking at him pointedly, Felicity advancing on him, one admonishing finger raised, with a stern look on her face.

"I'm going to find that man and finish what we started." Cas replied harshly.

"Well in case you hadn't noticed, he beat you. Both of you." She gave him a look like he was stupid. "Going out there alone would be suicide. Beisdes, you don't even know who you're looking for, or where to look."

"No I don't, but somehow I get the feeling you do." He placed his hands on her temples as he said this and closed his eyes briefly. "So thank you, you've given me everything I need."

Felicity saw the image of Cyrus Gold that she and Barry had pulled up flash through her mind, as well as where he was most likely holed up, and her eyes widened as she realised what he had done.

"Wait, please, you'll get yourself killed, it's not worth it."

He didn't even turn at her words, resolutely walking up the stairs and out of sight.

A few hours later, after making his way through the building he had seen in Felicity's head, he found what he was looking for. He silently dropped onto the balcony of the large chamber that Cyrus was using as his base. As he surveyed the scene below, he saw a number of men strapped to chairs, all with blood seeping from their eyes. _'Someone is trying to make an army of super soldiers' _Cas thought grimly. _'I promised myself I wouldn't let this happen again, this has to end.'_

Cyrus entered with another man, who was wearing a strange mask that looked like a skull. Cas decided to try a more subtle approach than the last time he had fought Cyrus. He reached out gently with his mind, pushing his way into the superhuman's head, taking control. The man didn't know what happened until it was too late. _'Now turn' _Cas commanded silently, _'And knock him unconscious'_

Cyrus suddenly spun and punched his companion in the temple, taking him completely unaware. The man crumpled in a heap and Cas dropped to the main floor to face Cyrus.

The man was stood stock still, staring ahead and Cas felt his confidence return slightly after their previous run in. He calmly stepped and gestured towards the railing, telekinetically pulling a metal bar free. He levitated it between himself and his opponent, lining it up with the space between his eyes.

"You are mine, creature." He said angrily. "Your kind shall never again see the light of day."

As he spoke, Cyrus's mind pulsed, as if he was fighting to regain control. Cas crushed his resistance, but his concentration slipped momentarily and he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, exactly where he did _not_ want to be feeling anything. It had been so long since his _prisoner_ had stirred, he had almost forgotten he was there. _'Forty years of silence, and he stirs now. Isn't that just my luck.' _He thought darkly, returning to the task at hand.

He tried to concentrate on keeping Cyrus under control, while lancing the metal through his skull, but every time he tried to move the bar his head throbbed. Finally, with an almighty heave, he tried to quiet the pain in his head, keep Cyrus still, and move the bar...

* * *

He awoke in a pool of blood, none of it his own. He felt as if he had a knife twisting into his skull. Panic laced through him, and he checked the mental prison in the back of his mind. _'Phew, secure. And quiet, how odd.'_

He opened his eyes at this point, attempting to get his bearings. Oliver was bent over him, dressed as the Arrow, and he saw Cyrus dead behind him, Mirakuru burns on one side of his face.

"What the hell did you do?!" Oliver's voice sounded angry, more so through his voice modifier.

Cas looked at him in confusion before looking around, understanding dawning on him. There were holes in the walls, the celing was partially caved in and the room looked like it had been hit by a tornado. On top of that, the bodies that had formerly been strapped to chairs in the centre of the room looked like they had been hacked to pieces. It was a truly gruesome sight.

"I...I don't remember." Cas responded slowly, his voice fuzzy. He tried to stand, and stumbled slightly. "But I think I have a fairly good guess." He hung his head, covering his face with his hands. "I should never have come here, I'm sorry Oliver!" And with that, he ran. He didn't pay any attention to where he was going, or to Oliver's voice shouting behind him. He needed to be alone, to get away from anyone else he could hurt, until he knew he was under control.

* * *

"How did you find me?"

He didn't look up as she approached. He was sat under a tree on a hillside 10 miles outside Starling City, looking out at the sea. His face looked drawn and there were bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept for a while.

"Lucky for me you have a cell phone like a normal person, which I can track. I might've, kinda, _bugged _your phone when you first showed up at the Foundry, sorry...if it makes you feel any better I've done it for everyone." Felicity trailed off awkwardly, noticing he hadn't moved, or even looked in her direction.

"So," she elongated the word while trying to work out what to say. "Why did you run away from Oliver? He was really mad, like more than usual, which is really saying something because that guy has some anger issues...I mean, unresolved island issues...or whatever, the point is, he was super angry, but other than saying that he was angry at you, and that you ran, he wouldn't give us any details. That's why I tracked you down, I wanna know what happened, and you should know by now I hate mysteries."

"You shouldn't be here, it's not safe near me." He told her with a dead voice, no emotion at all. "Nobody is safe when I'm around. I was right, I'm better off alone."

Felicity rolled her eyes at him and sat down. "Oh please, if I ran off every time Oliver made that speech, I'd be halfway around the world by now. What's so much scarier about you? I told you, your powers don't make you dangerous, its how you use them that matters."

"I assume you saw the state of the warehouse where I found Cyrus Gold?" He didn't pull away when she edged closer to him, just stayed utterly still.

"Um...I got hold of some of the security footage, but it just looked like a mess. I'm guessing it was a tough fight?"

"Not exactly." He paused, "Felicity, I don't think this is a secret I can share, even with you. I took on a burden, and it is mine to bear, even if I must be alone to do so."

"What burden? What is so bad that you can't tell me?! You know I won't judge you." She moved so she was in front of him, looking him in the eyes, and gently took his hands. He flinched, but didn't stop her. She raised them to her temples, as he had in the foundry, and said, "Take a look, see if I'm telling the truth."

So he did, he dove into her mind, deeper than he had before, but still wary of not exerting himself too far. What he saw surprised him. She was telling the truth, there was no condemnation in her thoughts, and no fear, even though he could see she had found every gruesome image of the damage he had done to the warehouse and the bodies of the Mirakuru victims. He saw Oliver carrying an unconscious teenage boy over his shoulder, the only person who escaped the slaughter it seemed. Behind that, he saw that she was concerned, but _for _him. She had no regard or consideration for her own safety, truly believing he would not, _could not, _hurt her. It took his breath away, her faith in him.

"Felicity," he began, saying her name in the way Oliver once had, like a prayer, with reverence and care. "You truly are remarkable."

"Well, you're not the first to remark on it," she told him with a wink, "But thank you."

"You really want to know?" he eyed her warily, "I've come to enjoy the way you regard me. This short friendship we have built, sharing so much of my past with you, it has been wonderful. I fear that with this revelation, that will change." He drew a deep sigh and paused as she continued to watch him expectantly. He let out the breath and said, "However, since I can see you will not be dissuaded, I suppose I will tell you."

"After the second world war, Division 6 was remade under a new name. The goal was almost the same, track and eliminate supernatural or highly dangerous threats. There were no supernaturals besides myself after the Mirakuru, but the heads of the division kept the mission statement, ever vigilant." He let out a breath. "In 1968, my colleague Dr Valentine and I were sent to Chicago to track down a serial killer. The case was strange, because the killer used almost identical methods as Jack the Ripper. There was a theory going round the division for years that these killers, as well as a number of others from various points in history, were connected. When I was brought in, they even entertained the idea that he was like me, and that these killers were in fact the same man."

"That's a very interesting bit of history Professor, but how is this relevant?" Felicity chimed in, looking curious but impatient. She folded her arms.

"Bear with me, this is all important I assure you." he replied, waiting until she had relaxed her posture and was listening again, before continuing.

"We arrived in Chicago, and tracking him wasn't difficult, he left massive clues, and was surprisingly sloppy in his methods for such a prolific murderer." Felicity flinched slightly at his nonchalance, which he noticed, but just carried on. "We had him cornered, and I was reading his mind, trying to ascertain the truth about his origins for the division. What I found was far worse than just another long lived individual..."

"It turned out he was some kind of spirit, possessing a body. I don't know even to this day how that is possible, but if you can suspend disbelief and assume that it is, I saw in his head that he was raised in Sparta, centuries before even I was born. He had been hopping from body to body throughout history, killing and moving on. That was why he was so sloppy, he didn't need to cover his tracks, he could disappear on a whim."

"As I was coming to terms with this, I _felt_ his consciousness...jump. I don't know how else to describe it. He jumped into my partner's mind, and I watched as she turned on me. I didn't know what to do, so I forced my way into her head, and somehow _pulled_ the Spartan's mind back with me into my own." His eyes took on a haunted, faraway look as he spoke, as if reliving that moment. "With most people, he takes instant control, the person is helpless. Luckily for me, I suppose, I'm not most people, and I fought him."

He looked up at Felicity, fixing her eyes with a stare, "I was in a coma for 2 months, all the time fighting a serial killer for control of my body. In the end, I imprisoned him in a corner of my brain, wrapped in a telepathic prison."

"Well that's good, right? I mean, you won, so what's the problem?" Felicity still looked confused, but he raised a hand, indicating his story wasn't quite over.

"He's still there," he told her, tapping his temple, "He's always there, waiting for a chance to break out. If I use my powers extensively, or put any strain on my mind, he takes it as an opportunity to break free."

Her silence prompted him to continue.

"I can get him back under control, but sometimes he takes over. That's what happened the other day. My unrestrained power in the hands of a psychotic serial killer. It's lucky Oliver wasn't there, or you, or Diggle."

He slumped then, looking defeated, but Felicity wasn't ready to give in.

"So, you'll be more careful, no big deal. You can get past this..." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can help you."

He laughed, although there was no humour in the sound. "Felicity I have spent 45 of the last 50 years alone, avoiding human contact because I know the danger. No one can help me."

"Well I'm sorry, I don't accept that, so you'd better get used to having company, because there is no way I'm letting you exile yourself again."

They lapsed into silence at that, both lost in their own thoughts, when something occured to him.

"Why did Oliver send you to find me? I'm surprised he would be so careless with your safety."

"He didn't," she replied, looking slightly self conscious. "He actually doesn't know I'm here, I told him I needed the afternoon off and came and found you on my own."

"Why?!" He asked, more harshly than he meant to.

"Because, I..." She swallowed, "I care about you. I don't know why, what it is about you, but I..." She moved closer as she spoke. "I've been thinking, well _feeling..._um, things, and I couldn't just let you run away without telling you how I..." her last word was lost as she rested her hands on his chest, her eyes drifting down from his eyes. She closed the small distance between them, her eyelids fluttering closed, and to his mild surprised, placed a light yet passionate kiss on him.

He knew he should pull back, but in a moment of weakness his hand glided gently up her back and he responded, kissing her softly. She tried to deepen the kiss, but he kept himself under control. After a few moments they broke apart. She looked shyly at him, waiting for a reaction.

"Well Miss Smoak, if that is your subtle way of convincing me to come back..." he heard her draw in a breath, "You may be onto something." he smiled as she exhaled in relief.

"I try my best _Mr Grey._" She replied, mocking his formality. "Can we go home now, sitting on the ground like this isn't the most comfortable thing."

He stood quickly, offering her his hand. "I suppose I can try." he said as they walked towards her car, "but you have to know if anyone else gets hurt because of me, especially you, I don't know how I'd forgive myself."

"I trust you," she told him softly, but firmly, taking his hand casually, "I don't think you could actually hurt me."

"I hope you're right." he stepped away from her as they reached the car, heading for the passenger side. "I guess I should apologise to Oliver. I don't think I can handle explaining that again though, do you mind if that stays our little secret?"

"Of course. I'm pretty good at keeping a secret."

As they made the drive back into the city, the conversation turned to more normal topics, and he couldn't help but feel comfortable in her presence, despite his constant, nagging fears. He wasn't sure what her kissing him meant for their friendship, and maybe neither did she, but for some reason, he trusted this girl as he hadn't trusted anyone in a long time, and that made him want to find out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Don't Panic

They drove back in silence, neither one looking at the other. Felicity's mind was going round in panicked circles.

_'I kissed him...why did I do that? What made me think that was a good idea?'_

She glanced over at him and swallowed nervously. He was humming softly to himself, gazing out the window. He looked completely at ease, as if he was oblivious to the internal meltdown that was starting within Felicity.

_'He's been around for like one thousand, nine hundred and twelve years. That is one thousand eight hundred and eighty seven years longer than me. He's probably seen and done things I could never imagine.'_Her thoughts swirled. _'He wouldn't look twice at a boring IT girl, just because we have a couple of friends in common. I mean sure, he said he liked our 'friendship', and he's shared a lot of his secrets with me. But friends don't kiss friends'_

She thought back to the fateful moment, replaying it in her head. She realised how much of a stereotype this made her, but at that moment she didn't care. _'He didn't really respond. He was polite, he didn't push me away or embarrass me, but he didn't kiss me back. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, why would he? He's eternally young, ridiculously experienced, he has_ super powers,_oh and lets not forget, he's freakishly gorgeous'_she trailed off sadly, convincing herself more and more of her own inadequacy.

_'And what about Barry,'_ she thought, _'He was so nice, and sweet, and I ran off before he could say goodbye. He's probably halfway back to Central City by now, and I ditched him to chase after Cas. Does that make me a bad person? Did I lead Barry on because it felt so nice to be liked?'_she held back a tear at this. _'I finally find a guy who likes me and I screw it up chasing_another _unavailable, damaged man with a hero complex. And this one is in a whole different league of unavailable, and damaged. At least Oliver's demons were firmly in the past, left on that island. Cas_literally _carries his around with him.'_

As her thoughts trailed off, thinking about what he's had to live with, and for how long, something else occurred to her.

"Where am I taking you?" She inquired, breaking the stretching silence. "I mean...where do you live? Do you have a place in Starling? Are you staying at a hotel?" She clamped her mouth shut before it got away from her, waiting for him to answer.

There was a long minute where he didn't speak, and when he finally did he said, "I have an apartment in the city, I'll direct you."

They lapsed back into quiet as they left the open country, and Felicity's brain went back to analysing.

_'What about Oliver?'_she thought guiltily. _'After I gave him a hard time about Isabel in Russia, and he told me he couldn't be with someone he could really care about, I knew he was talking about me. I suppose between Laurel and his guilt about Tommy, and Sara still being alive, I knew he would never actually do anything about it even if he did have feelings for me. I'm not the kind of girl Oliver would, no_could_, want to be with.'_

"Don't sell yourself short love," Cas said out of nowhere. She jumped, but before she could respond he said "Sorry, I wasn't listening in, but just then I got a very strong feeling of inadequacy and an image of Oliver. I guessed you had feelings for him, but I wouldn't have imagined those feelings were left unresolved because you don't think you're good enough for him." He looked genuinely shocked.

"Um, no actually...I mean at one point I did have feelings for Oliver, like strong feelings...but I realised that with his complex history with women, and his hero complex, it would never become anything. I was actually thinking about how recently I've hardly thought about Oliver in that way, except when he's working out...I mean, when I'm watching him work out...wow that sounds worse. He's a good lucking guy, lets just admit that, but that's kind of as far as it goes now."

Cas laughed, "Oh Felicity, we all watch Oliver work out, you would have to be blind not to see the appeal, especially when he's climbing that ridiculous ladder."

He turned to her as she pulled up outside the building he had told her contained his apartment, "What was it that prompted you to reach this revelation about Oliver, if I may ask?"

She blushed, looking down at her hands as she said, "That's a long story, and we're already at your door. Maybe another time?" Her voice rose at the end as if it was a question.

"You could come up." He replied smoothly. "It's only 7 o clock, and I don't know about you, but I am starving. Brooding is hungry work." He winked, and Felicity rolled her eyes at his ability to switch from fatalistic misery to mocking himself in under an hour. " How about I cook us some dinner, and we can talk about what's on your mind." Her glare caught him by surprise, and he added, "which I have no idea about, because as I said I was not listening." She relented slightly.

"I don't want to impose." She began hesitantly, but he waved her down.

"I have plenty of food in Felicity, and frankly it might go to waste if you don't share it with me." He gave her what she could only assume were his attempt at puppy dog eyes. She giggled, _'Finally, something he's not good at'_ she thought _'Although, its only because he's too collected and together, not to mention experienced and mentally just_old_, that he can't pull off the innocence of puppy eyes.'_She sighed, resigning herself to a night of embarrassing awkwardness, and nodded.

They walked into the lobby and straight into an open elevator. He pushed the button for the top floor, unaware of the look of surprise on her face.

"You live in the penthouse?"

"Yes," He made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ok, so you own a gorgeous Lexus, a penthouse apartment...what is it you do exactly?"

"I suppose the short answer would be, I am an investor." He replied, all smooth charm and carefree confidence. "It turns out when you invest your money in a few startup businesses, and those businesses become huge, you become rich. I happened to be lucky enough to buy a decent minority in Ford and General Motors back in the early 20s when the moving assembly line was first introduced, so when they took off, I was basically set for life. Ah, here we are."

The lift doors opened and he stepped out, motioning her to follow. She stood dumbfounded for a second before doing so. _'He owns a percentage of the two biggest motor companies in the US, that he bought in the 1920s, and he says this as casually as I tell people I got Windows 8 before it was officially released.'_She shook her head. _'Sometimes I think he says these things just to keep me off balance.'_

"I can promise you I don't," he called from the kitchen, where he had just entered and started preparing their evening meal. "Now hurry up, I have a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape breathing and would love your company while I cook."

She walked into the kitchen and was amazed at his tranformation. His jacket was discarded casually on the counter, next to where she was pulling out a barstool, sitting down carefully, and he had folded his sleeves up to the elbows. He had a tea towel thrown over his shoulder, making him look like nothing more than a sterotypical modern domestic man. She couldn't help but stare for a moment, but she shook herself and continued her earlier line of qustioning.

"So what do you do now?" She began, "I mean, you financed those companies, and that probably earns you a lot, but how do you spend your time?"

"Well, in theory I attend annual board of directors meetings for both of those companies, and a few others I have bought or helped start since then. Other than that, I travel. When you have all the time in the world, what better way to spend it than to travel extensively. The incredible thing about our world is that no matter how long you are on it, there is always more to see, more to do." His eyes lit up, and she could tell this was something he was very passionate about.

"Have you travelled much Felicity?" he countered while she was momentarily silenced.

"Nope, never been outside the continental US. Well, unless you count going to Lian Yu to bring Oliver back after the earthquake, which personally I don't, because I didn't use my passport at any point, and the plane was older than I am...and the island was mostly empty, except for the landmines, one of which I stepped on, which was not fun...not that the rest of the island was sunshine and daisies, but that was pretty bad for me..." She trailed off, as she often did when the lack of brain to mouth filter got away from her, and noticed he had stopped preparing the food, instead simply looking at her, a sad expression in his eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to experience that. That island was nothing short of hell on earth, for everyone who went there, but most of all for Oliver. That you travelled into that part of his past...you must really care about him, I would feel honoured to have someone who felt that kind of friendship and loyalty towards me." He resumed chopping as he said this, eyes returning to the counter in front of him.

"I think you would enjoy France." He blurted out unexpectedly after a short silence. "Not Paris necessarily, that is just full of tourist attractions and rude people. Somewhere rural in the south I think, a village near a vineyard maybe. How does that sound? French bistros and wine every night, walking and taking in the scenery by day."

"Wow, that sounds amazing. So yeah I'd say you're right on the money there, but where did that come from? You're not thinking of flying me to France are you? Because, that would be intense, like even as friends...I mean of course it would be as friends, even though thats more of a romantic, couply thing...but you wouldn't do that, because you're, you know, _you,_and I'm, well...me." She gestured at herself with a look halfway between boredom and distaste that he couldn't help but notice. "And even if you did, that's a big thing and we've only known each other a few weeks and...why can't I stop talking? 3, 2, 1."

Cas turned and placed a timer on the oven and then walked round the counter to sit next to her.

"Felicity, I was merely making conversation, no need to have a meltdown," he tried to joke, but saw her features drop and continued. "The idea of romance with you is nowhere near as alien a concept to me as you seem to think," Her head flew back up at this, a look of pure shock on her face. "But you are right, whisking you off to France would be rather over the top. If I was trying to court you..." She snorted, then smothered it when she realised he had said the phrase 'court you' in total seriousness, "I would start with something simple, like a trip to the theatre (_'Not the movies, the theatre'_she noted, '_another testament to both his age and his endless supply of classy charm'_) or even just cooking you dinner." He stood back up as he said the last part and mvoed back round to where he could check on their food. She tried not to think too much that he _very_obviously hinted he was romancing her right at this very moment.

"Wow, okay, as always I'm just going to ruin any atmosphere and romance by asking the blunt inappropriate question." He quirked an eyebrow as she tried to gather her wits and continue. "Earlier when I came and found you, I kissed you." He opened his mouth and she gestured for him to let her finish. "I don't know what came over me, seriously, because once again, hi _look_ at you, and you're smart, and considerate, and mysterious, and impossibly charming, and I actually find it kind of amazing that you voluntarily keep a reeeeeeeeally old serial killer in a personal prison in your head, and I'm an uninteresting, decidedly average, IT expert who's greatest achievements are my MIT degree and my ability to babble inappropriately." She stopped, almost losing her train of thought, but after a moment continued. "Yeah, anyway, I kissed you, and you had plenty of chances to respond, but you didn't. But now you're 'courting' me. What gives?"

She noticed a glass of wine had appeared next to her as she was speaking, and another had appeared by Cas's right hand. She looked over at the bottle that was halfway across the room. It was still there, and she realised he had poured their drinks with his power and still not taken his eyes off her as she spoke.

He picked up his wine, took a small sip as he considered how he could explain. "There are two reasons I didn't respond earlier." He said slowly, holding her gaze, but not moving from the other side of the counter. "The first is obvious. I'm dangerous, I can't be trusted around you and you shouldn't have come to find me. Kissing you then could have resulted in a loss of control that I wasn't willing to risk. But I imagine you had worked that much out. The second reason..." he sighed, raking a hand through his hair, "I'm old Felicity, and that doesn't just translate to having useful memories. I am old fashioned in a lot of ways, and because of this, if I am romantically interested in someone, I believe they deserve to be courted, before jumping to things like kissing."

She couldn't help but laugh, he had actually begun to blush slightly, and the idea of him 'courting' her, as well as his repeated use of the word 'courted' in a serious context, had her helplessly stifling giggles while he stood looking embarassed.

"So what you're saying is, you _are_interested in me, but you think I need wine and candles and a nice meal before we can kiss?" She asked, stifling a last small giggle that escaped. "I thought you didn't do romanctic relationships..." She looked up at him through her eyelashes, and he visibly swallowed as he replied.

"I believe what I said is that I don't do them for long. I'd like you to bear in mind that I haven't dated since the early 1930s. After that it was all war and secret agent work, and then self imposed exile."

She wasn't sure what he was implying, and then she remembered how he had skated round the details of his 'relationship' with Sara, and that he had specificed what had and had not happened with Oliver, and she was laughing all over again.

"I'm sorry," she managed between bursts of levity, "Is that your subtle gentlemanly way of saying 'its been a while'?"

He managed to look offended for just under a second before joining her laughter. "Why yes, I suppose it has been quite a while." He returned to a semblence of seriousness. "But that's irrelevant, I think you are wonderful Felicity. You are highly intelligent, both sharp and insightful in all situations. You are resourceful, and braver than anyone gives you credit. On top of that, you are stunningly beautiful, and you have this incredibly endearing tendency to babble your every thought at a ridiculous speed. And do you know what the best part is? You genuinely have no idea about any of these things. Your opinion of yourself is far lower than it should be, and I would like a chance to prove to you just how mistaken you are in this matter."

Her jaw dropped at his long and typically eloquent admission. _'Oh my god, I don't know if I can handle this. I'm being hit on by someone who is basically a god among men, including the immortality bit. How did this happen? And what the hell am I supposed to do now? Get 'courted' I guess...'_

He finished perparing as she was thinking, and placed a tray in his enormous oven. "Dinner will be an hour. What would you like to do until then?"

"Um," she stood, suddenly feeling self conscious, but the glass of wine she had emptied had given her a bit of confidence, and for some reason, his comment about courting and his implication he wanted to take things so slowly had lit a fire in her. She felt the need to act, before it disappeared.

"You could show me around your apartment."

He led her into each room, and she couldn't help but marvel at the size of the place, the rooms were huge. She nodded with approval at the computer setup in the study, and stared in awe at the enormous TV in the lounge. He skipped the bathroom, and they ended up on the threshold of the master bedroom. The gigantic fourposter bed was perfectly kept, almost untouched. Cas turned to go back to the lounge, but Felicity stepped into the bedroom, feeling bold. She turned when she was halfway across the room and waited. Cas followed her, unsure of what she was doing, but curious to find out.

As he approached, she stepped backwards again until her legs were against the bed. He stopped a few feet from her and she sighed, looking up at him, desire in her eyes.

"Come closer." She breathed. "And just for now, forget the rules."

He stepped right into her space, looking into her eyes, and she could see her desire returned. He didn't make a move though, so she placed her hands gently behind his neck and pulled him in as she reached up. He hesitated at first, but then succumbed to her order. He forgot his rules, he let himself go, and returned her kiss passionately, the way he hadn't under the tree that afternoon. He ran a hand through her hair and another across her back, her hands still draped over his shoulders, hands behind his neck.

After what could have been hours, they broke apart, panting, and she lent backwards, partially lying on the bed, trying to pull him to her with his tie. The next thing she knew, he had stepped out of her reach and she was floating 5 ft above the bed, she felt her body tilt until it was vertical again, and her feet touched the ground. He stepped forward and kissed her again, but with less heat and need than before. She felt a pang of disappointment, and rejection, until he pulled back and spoke.

"I am not rejecting you Felicity, I meant everything I said. _Everything_. However, if one rushes into something, they cannot truly appreciate it. To wait, and savour every small moment while it lasts, that is how one enjoys an experience. And believe me when I say, I want to enjoy this." He raised a chin towards the still unruffled bed. "And I very much would like you to enjoy it as much as I do. So how about we return to the lounge and we can watch a movie, whatever you choose, then eat dinner, and I will take you home? Does that sound agreeable?" He said every word softly, his voice like silk, and Felicity flushed. _'He's right, I'm not this girl, I judge girls who act how I just acted.'_

"That sounds lovely Cas, thank you. I'm just going to head to the bathroom, I will be right back."

They ate and talked late into the night, and when it finally came time for her to leave (_'You are not giving me a ride, my car is here, I can drive myself home')_He kissed her again, a lingering farewell that left her slightly weak at the knees. As she pulled away, she felt like her head was going to explode from too much input in one day. Her thoughts drifted from Oliver and the Team, to her work, both day and night, and then came back to Cas, his smile, his lips on hers, and she was content.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello my lovely readers, another chapter comin' at ya! Advance warning, this is my first attempt at sexual writing, so more than ever, I would really appreciate your feedback! Oh and I suppose if slightly sexual content isn't your thing...proceed with caution.**

Chapter 8 – Business is business

It was a week later, and Felicity had hardly had chance to see Cas. Between her work as Oliver's EA, and their nighttime activities, she had been lucky to make it home for a short sleep most nights. So when he strode out of the executive elevator and into her office, looking even more handsome than he had when she last saw him, she was more than a little taken aback. She struggled to construct a sentence while his long stride brought him straight to her desk.

"Good morning Felicity." He greeted her with a smile as she rose and stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do with herself. "I hope you've been well. I must say it has saddened me that we have been unable to find a moment to enjoy each others company since that lovely evening last week."

"Yeah sorry, crime fighting has been insane recently, and when I'm here I kinda basically do Oliver's job, since he's either too distracted with Arrow stuff, or just doesn't know what he's doing as a CEO, sooo..." She blushed and trailed off, before shooting him a glare, "Wait, where have you been? I mean yeah, I've been busy, but you haven't been down to the lair once since our date...I mean, our casual hang out at your place, with wine, and the best home cooked meal I have ever eaten, and then cuddling on your sofa with a movie...which was lovely, and way more normal than I expected from you, which is good, it was the best kind of normal...you really haven't gotten the hang of this making me shut up thing have you? Guess I have to do it myself, 3, 2, 1...Good morning Cas, how can I help you today?" She started again with a sarcastic smile, trying to compose herself.

"Actually I'm here to see Oliver." He told her, turning towards the office of the man in question and seeing him deep in what looked to be a mildly aggressive talk with Isabel. He still noticed the look of slight disappointment in her eyes, so he clarified, "I have a surprise for him, and for you, that will hopefully explain my absence." He motioned for her to follow as he entered the office without knocking.

"Oliver, Isabel, good morning." Cas greeted both with a professional handshake. "I'm glad I caught you at the same time. I have some interesting news for you." He gestured for them both to have a seat on the sofas at the side of Oliver's desk. They both sat quickly, looking curious, Isabel hanging on Cas's words with rapt attention.

"At open of business on Monday, I was in China, liquidating a number of my holdings there. I felt a new area of investment was prudent in the current climate." He readjusted his jacket, fixing Isabel with a firm stare as he continued. "Lucky for me, Stellmoor International was more than happy to take them off my hands. These holdings were so productive, when I gave them the chance to acquire them for below market value, they jumped at it. It put them in a precarious short term position, but should prove very profitable for them in the long term." He paused to let his words sink in, and Isabel's face went from confused to shocked in an instant. She opened her mouth to sputter a response, but Cas carried on as if she wasn't there.

"In 5 days, one of my subsidiaries will announce their bid for a majority controlling share in Queen Consolidated, covering the 10% currently owned under credit from Starling National Bank, and the 45% owned by Stellmoor, in your name Ms Rochev. I guarentee Stellmoor will agree to the buyout, given the current state of affairs here at QC, and the relatively shakey level of liquidity they have found themselves in," He sat back smugly. Isabel's mouth opened and closed like a fish, before she abruptly stood and marched from the room.

"You bought my company?!" Oliver rounded on Cas after Isabel was out of earshot. "Why?"

"I knew you were having problems with Isabel." He shrugged casually. "I considered simply buying her out and handing you back a 100% controlling majority in your own company, and I can still do that if you wish. However, when I thought about it longer, given your night time activities, you might do well to have some of your professional responsibility taken off your shoulders. It's entirely up to you, but bear in mind that in this scenario you still have enough of a share in the company to be needed here, I would just take over the majority of the day to day legwork, leaving you free to exercise, or fight crime, or whatever needs doing in your other life." His words trailed off, looking at Oliver apprehensively, waiting for a reaction.

After a full minute of silence, during which Felicity swore she could hear all of them breathing, Oliver just said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Cas replied doubtfully.

"That's what I said," Oliver told him, standing and turning to face the window. "You are right, I'm struggling to fit my nightlife around my day job at the moment. And somehow I imagine you are better qualified to run this company than I am...right?"

"Has Felicity not told you I sat on the board of Directors for GM, Ford, Rockefeller and a number of others before the war?" He patted Oliver on the shoulder as he passed and made his way to the desk. "Now for the awkward question. Do I need to find myself a new Executive Assistant?" He looked at Felicity.

"I know you only took this job as a cover so you could work closely with Oliver, and if you want to go back to IT, or leave altogether, I completely understand. That said, I would be very happy if you stayed, and I can promise you that your job will be much less stressful than before." He gave her a subtle wink, noting Oliver did not rise to his jab.

"Um, wow, so you just walk in and announce you've bought Queen Consolidated, and within 5 minutes you're discussing whether I want to keep my job. Do you do everything like a tornado? Seriously, you sweep in, do something insane, and usually awesome, and then you're gone. Are you really going to stick at being CEO of QC for an extended period? Are you still going to have a part in our other job? I have so many questions..." She stopped as he raised a hand gently, stepping towards her.

"I am going to be CEO of this company for as long as I'm needed. I do sincerely hope that Oliver can take it back over at some point, I'm just here as a stopgap to get the company back on its feet." He sighed before answering her second question. "I don't think I'm safe to be a part of your other job, for reasons that you are very aware, but I thought this would be a good way to still be a part of your worlds. Plus..." He leaned closer and whispered gently against her ear. "It gives me an excuse to be around you." She gave a gasp at his breath over her cheek.

"So, if that's all sorted, Oliver, would you mind if I steal your EA and take her for lunch?"

It took him a second to respond, and all he said was, "Be my guest." Shaking his head as they walked out.

* * *

As they were seated at a lovely independent cafe round the corner, Felicity immediately broke into the myriad of thoughts that had been racing through her mind.

"You really are like a tornado...I mean don't get me wrong, I kinda like that. Oliver might take a bit longer to get used to the idea, but he's been really distracted with finding that skull mask guy, and work has suffered for it, so this is probably for the best." She took a gulp from the drink he had ordered for her, then immediately carried on, "I guess I don't mind staying on as Executive Assistant, I mean there's no point hiring someone new to learn the job when I already know it pretty well, plus it might stop all those rumours that I'm sleeping with Oliver if you take over his job and I keep mine...they might just think I'm sleeping with you now though, which would be bad...not that the idea of sleeping with you as bad, oh god why did that come out...just I've never coped well with vicious rumours...not that I get rumours spread about me a lot, but on the rare occasions I do, I don't like it, sooooooo..."

"Breathe Felicity," Cas told her, stifling a laugh, "I'm glad you want to stay. Of course your hours won't be as long as they are now, I don't want your home life or your other work to be affected by this change, except for the better, and I know how important it is to find a work life balance."

"Ha, balance, sure, like I have that, _at all_. But given the chance, I'm sure I could enjoy a bit of me time."

"I must confess I have a selfish motive," he lent forward, whispering conspiratorially, "If you have a bit more free time, I might actually be able to take you out like this once in a while."

"Oh, so that's, like, a _thing_...you want to, what, date me?" She eyed him surreptitiously, "Or, what was it you called it...court me? I don't get it, why me? What's so special about me?"

"My dear Felicity," he replied gently, shaking his head slightly, "Do you really not understand how remarkable you are? Over nineteen hundred years of experience, and I can say with certainty that someone like you comes around once in a lifetime. I have no idea what might come of this, _dating,_ as you put it, but for the first time in a _very_ long time, I'd like to find out."

He reached over the table and took her hand, feeling her shiver slightly at his touch.

"Alright," she said, putting on her business face, "I'll stay on as Executive Assistant, and the next time we go on a date, I'm in charge. I'm not going to be one of those girls who waits to be romanced and escorted around town. Any relationship with me is an equal one." She raised a finger at him as she said that, brows drawing down in a way that he couldn't help but smile at. "Is that clear?"

"Crystal," he replied easily, trying desperately not to laugh. "So I shall wait like the proverbial damsel for you to take me out, is that it? I think I can manage that."

They talked comfortably after that, about her interests before she started working for Oliver, and her time at MIT. She realised he was constantly steering the conversation back to her, and she asked why that was.

"You already know so much about my long and colourful past, I thought it only fair for me to learn some of yours." He told her simply, "I find you fascinating, and anything more I can learn about your past and influences can only be good."

"Oh," was all she could say in response to that. "But I only know the crazy, supernatural, or war related parts of your past. What about the normal stuff? The stuff in between? Like...what was the best night out you ever had?"

"Oh that's easy, I hit every bar on Bourbon St in New Orleans in one night, back in 1911. My last memory is of dancing through the French Quarter in the middle of a parade...it was wonderful! How about you, any party stories to share?"

"Well, nothing like _that..._but one time in college my friend and I stole a goat...somehow he got in trouble with campus security, but they never figured out _I _was the real mastermind." She flushed as he gazed at her, "I'm sure that must sound boring to you."

"On the contrary, I can honestly say that I have never stolen a farmyard animal, so congratulations, you are more daring than I." He was still talking in that soft, silky way that she decided she really liked. She watched the way his lips moved as he talked, and a brief flash of their last kiss invaded her thoughts before she pushed it out. That was when she had a surprisingly bold idea...

She pictured kissing him again, really savouring the image in her mind. She then let her mind wander, feeling his hands gently running down her arms as she ran hers across his back. She remembered when she had lain onto her bed, imagining that he had joined her.

As she was picturing his hands tearing her blouse open, she finally saw his eyes widen. Part of her was pleasantly surprised that he had been staying out of her thoughts, as he said he had, the other was determined to shock him. The images in her head took on a more desperate edge, imagining tearing at his shirt as his hands tore at her skirt.

Cas coughed, and she could see colour in his cheeks, something she was sure she had not seen before. It made her feel powerful that she could actually affect this supernatural god in front of her.

"Erm, do you think we could keep our thoughts strictly PG for the moment Felicity?" he said disjointedly, loosening his tie.

"Why Cas, feeling a bit warm?" She smirked, closing her eyes, as she neared the main event of her fantasy. Just at the point where she pictured him entering her, he cleared his throat again, louder than the first time. Her eyes snapped open. She had gotten a bit carried away, and almost forgotten where she was in her effort to prove her effect on him.

"You know Felicity, if this is the kind of game you want to play, I can play, but I should warn you, I don't play fair." He let that trail in the air, leaving her wondering what he meant, but he just gave her a cheeky wink and stood. "We should probably be getting back to the office. I don't want to be late to my first afternoon as CEO of Queen Consolidated."

They walked back to the QC tower, taking the elevator in comfortable quiet, Felicity's thoughts still occasionally wandering. Cas just shot her a warning glance, which served to spur her on.

They reached the top floor and went to their separate offices. As Felicity sat down and logged into her computer, an image blazed in her head, far more explicit than any of the images she had been picturing up to that point. It made her gasp, heat rising in her chest, and it took her a moment to compose herself. _'What was that?'_she thought wildly, turning to look through her adjoining window. Cas was sat at his desk, with a report in one hand, but he was looking directly at her with a triumphant grin on his face. Realisation flooded through her. _'He can put thoughts in people's heads'_ she thought, feeling equally panicked and aroused, _'He's playing me at my own game.'_

She narrowed her eyes, and in a show of maturity, stuck her tongue out at him. He playfully stuck his tongue out right back, which momentarily surprised her, until another imagine hit her, and suddenly her mind was consumed, and that tongue he was playfully sticking out was not being so playful. She felt her back arch in her chair. And it took her a few moments to get herself back under control. She considered marching into his office and calling a ceasfire...she couldn't work like this, but she didn't entirely trust her knees at that moment. That was when she had a moment of inspiration. She waved through the glass at him, and tapped her temple. He nodded and lent forward in his chair, studying her.

_'I'm sorry for messing with you at lunch.'_she thought, trying to sound as contrite and innocent as possible. _'I promise I won't do it again, can we call a truce?'_

He paused , making a show of thinking by tapping his chin with his forefinger. After a moment, he nodded, with a sombre look on his face.

_'I will agree to a truce, on one condition. The next time those thought go through your head, make sure its at a time where I can act on them.'_ She saw his tongue dart out over his top lip as he thought this, in a gesture that she thought was entirely to provocative for the office. _'Now, if you don't mind, I need to do important CEO things in here.'_

His eyes fell back to the report in his hand, and she turned back to her computer, mentally shaking herself as she tried to concentrate on the work in front of her.

* * *

**I doubt that was what you expected when I mentioned sexual content, but I hope it wasn't too disappointing!**

**Until next time :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Speedy

Felicity was feeling happier than she had in a long time as she sat at her desk in the Foundry, reeling through search results and casually updating the network security. I mean sure, nothing had technically _changed_, she was still a glorified secretary by day, and tech support to a super hero by night, but Cas was an excellent CEO to work for, he really did understand running a business; all he seemed to need her for was keeping him organised day to day and the occasional bit of IT related advice. To top it off, now that he didn't have the pressure of running his family's company, Oliver was a lot more relaxed and focused, especially since catching the man in the skull mask.

While she was unashamedly ogling Oliver on the salmon ladder, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and smiled to herself when she saw it was Cas.

_I've just pulled up. I'll be down in a minute. x_

She couldn't help a small, very feminine giggle escaping, before she stopped herself. She realised Diggle and Oliver had stopped talking and were both looking at her with raised eyebrows. She glanced nervously from one to the other.

"What?"

"I was just telling Diggle what I'm planning to do about Roy. I thought you might have some input, but you seem like you're miles away. What's going on with you?" Oliver was using his non-growly voice, which still gave the impression that he expected an answer immediately. Felicity sighed, about to respond, when a voice echoed from the stairs.

"Who's Roy?" Cas took the stairs two at a time as he almost bounded into the lair. _'For a centuries old immortal, he really does act like a curious child sometimes.' _Felicity thought, trying to picture him as an actual child. Oliver rolled his eyes at Felicity as if to say _'Now I see why you're so distracted' _before answering.

"He's my sister's boyfriend, and he was injected with the Mirakuru," Oliver explained, "Other than Gold, he was the only survivor."

"So why isn't he dead." Cas enquired, sounding shockingly casual as he shoved his hands in his pockets and strode towards Felicity. "Anyone injected with Mirakuru is a threat that needs eliminating, it's as simple as that."

"I am _not_ going to give up on this kid." Oliver growled, "He just has to learn some control."

Cas sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He looked over at Felicity, and saw the shock and disappointment on her face. She couldn't quite believe what she had heard, how casually he expected Roy to be killed, just because of the Mirakuru.

"I'm sorry," he spoke quietly, seemingly addressing Oliver, but not taking his gaze from Felicity. "I seem to have slipped back into a soldier's mindset. Of course you should do what you can to help this boy. In fact...I might be able to lend a hand." He paused, gathering his thoughts, and when he continued it was with more conviction. "During the war, the Mirakuru subjects were all killers _before_ they were injected, and whenever I came across one, it was kill or be killed. It would be...interesting to get to know an ordinary young man injected with the serum, to see if he really can be helped; perhaps my abilities could prove useful."

"Thank you." said Oliver softly, giving his friend a small nod.

Oliver strode quickly to his bow, but before he could pick it up his phone rang.

"Hi," he said in his fake 'Ollie' voice, leading the group to guess it was either Thea, his mother, or Laurel. "What's up?"

His brow furrowed, looking worried. He moved the mouthpiece to the side as he turned to Felicity. "Laurel's upstairs."

She switched view to the bar cam upstairs at Verdant, and they all leaned in as they saw Laurel swaying at the bar, attempting to order a drink, with a number of empty glasses strewn in front of her.

"Thank you Thea," Oliver said into his phone, "I'll take care of it."

He hung up and made a beeline for the stairs.

"A chance to meet the infamous Laurel face to face. Count me in." Cas added, giving Felicity's shoulder a squeeze.

"No," Oliver rounded on him. "Now's not the time. I need you all to wait here."

Cas shrugged, seeming indifferent as to whether he actually got to meet Laurel.

As Oliver made his way upstairs, Cas sat down next to Felicity, letting a comfortable silence fall over them. Diggle was making himself busy cleaning his gun, but couldn't help the occasional subtle glance at the pair.

"So Cas," Felicity said suddenly, not looking up from her screens." I, uh, had an idea...if you'd be interested. It's kind of a surprise...although not a very good one since it kind of hinges on you owning a decent convertible. I don't, I just have my mini, which is definitely _not convertible, _and still has blood stains on the back seat from when Oliver was shot..." she closed her eyes and took a nervous breath, trying to steady herself, "So, um, would you maybe want to...go on a date with me?" She finally looked at him, waiting for a response. he didn't answer for what felt like years, even though it was probably less than a second, and when he did, it was accompanied by a cheeky half smile she hadn't seen before.

"Why Miss Smoak, I'm flattered. I would love to," he replied, ever the gentleman. "In answer to your question, I do own a convertible."

"Good, pick me up at 7 tomorrow night, and prepare to be amazed." She said the last with a smirk and a twinkle in her eye, an uncharacteristic show of confidence that Cas definitely liked.

He nodded, and she resumed her search for Bronze Tiger. Cas stepped away from her desk and moved over to Oliver's bow, picking it up and testing the weight and balance. He felt Diggle approach before he saw him.

"How can I help you Mr Diggle?" He murmered, too quietly for Felicity to hear. Diggle gave a small start, momentarily surprised Cas had known he was approaching, but he recovered quickly.

"So you and Felicity, that's new." Digg began, and Cas could feel the judgement in his voice.

"She's a fantastic girl, and she doesn't seem to see that. The other day when I snapped and killed these Mirakuru victims, she came and found me, brought me back even, reminded me I'm more than I see myself as. I'd like to do the same for her."

"That's all well and good, but as you just said, you _did _snap and do all that stuff. How do I know you won't do it again, and Felicity won't be the one getting hurt?"

"You don't," the simplicity of his words shocked Digg. "I can swear to you that I would _never _hurt her, and intentionally I wouldn't. But if I ever lost control again...it's something that worries me every moment I am with her." He turned to watch her working, "But she convinced me that I can't hide from my powers, I need to live again. It's been over a hundred years since I met a man or woman that I felt was truly worth investing in emotionally, but Felicity is that person, and I will do my utmost to keep her safe, especially from myself."

"I can't ask for much more than that man," Diggle told him softly. "I suppose the 'if you hurt her I'll kill you' threat doesn't have much weight to a guy as powerful as you, but if you do break her heart, or hurt her, I will try my damndest to make you sorry."

"If that were to happen, my good man, I might just let you." Cas replied, deadly serious. "Too much of my life was spent not caring about consequences...I could not abide another person getting hurt because of me."

Diggle sensed Cas was referring to things he hadn't yet mentioned, _'Dude's like two thousand years old, there's probably a crap ton of stuff he hasn't told us.'_

As their conversation died down, Felicity called them both over to her desk.

"I have a lead on Bronze Tiger, he's working for a guy named Milo Armitage. He's an arms dealer, meaning he'll be trying to sell the earthquake device. I'd better go tell Oliver."

"Sounds good, I'll come too," said Cas, grabbing his jacket.

"Why, its just upstairs?" Felicity wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"When Oliver was on the island, his little faded picture of Laurel was about all that kept him going. He spent every day for five years fighting to survive so he could come home to this woman. Even when he was with Shado, or Sara, his heart was at least partly with her. I'd like to meet the one who can have that sort of hold on a man like Oliver."

Felicity didn't know what to say to that. Irrational jealousy stabbed through her. _'Yet another person charmed and amazed by the gorgeous Laural,'_ she thought bitterly, knowing that wasn't fair to the poor woman.

* * *

As they reached the main bar, they caught the end of a jibe from Laurel.

"Or I could be your secretary, but then you'd have to fire _her."_

"Hi Laurel," Felicity replied awkwardly, "Oliver I need to talk to you."

As Oliver stepped away to hear what Felicity had to say, Cas took his place.

"So I finally get to meet the amazing Laurel. You seem to be having a lot of fun, what's the occasion?" He tried to keep his voice light and casual, but he could feel waves of emotion radiating from the drunken girl in front of him.

"Oh the usual, getting fired, probably getting disbarred. Oh and on top of that my sister is dead, my mom left and my dad is a recovering alcoholic who keeps trying to judge me." She babbled slightly incoherently. "Wait, who are you?"

"Apologies, my name is Cas Grey, I'm a friend of Oliver's. he's told me quite a bit about you, but I must say the stories do not do justice to the reality."

She jabs a finger at his face, staggering a bit, "Are you flirting with me Mr Grey, or judging me? Your sexy British accent makes it hard to tell." She fell against him as she said this, her face covered with a vacant grin.

"Are you getting sleepy young lady?" Cas asked, trying to play up to her childish mood, knowing that one wrong word would have her angrily storming out and trying to drive. "If you like, I'd be more than happy to take you home."

"Well, aren't we forward Mr Grey, does Oliver know you want to take me home?" She winked and stood up, linking an arm through his. "Lead the way."

He removed his arm from hers and placed it firmly around her waist, seeing that she wasn't remaining upright. He led her towards where Oliver and Felicity were finishing their conversation. They looked up, and he couldn't miss the quick look of jealousy on Felicity's face at his arm around Laurel.

_'Please don't read anything into this Felicity, I'm simply taking her home because I'm fairly sure she would try and drive otherwise, plus you and Oliver have an earthquake machine to track down.'_

He tried to make his face look apologetic as he thought this, hoping she understood. After another second, she nodded, and he smiled at her before turning to Oliver.

"I'm going to drive Laurel home. I want to make sure she gets back safely, especially as you have so much on tonight." He gave Oliver a friendly pat on the shoulder as he passed, "Don't worry, she's in safe hands. You two go do your thing, leave the lovely Laurel with me."

At the mention of her name, Laurel seemed to perk up, trailing a finger across the chest of Cas's shirt. He rolled his eyes so only Felicity could see, then turned for the door.

* * *

As he opened her door, Cas was surprised to see Laurel barely manage to stumble over the threshold. She should've been sobering up, especially after the burger he had bought her, not to mention the pints of water he had convinced her to drink. He swung her up into his arms and carried her to the sofa. After laying her down he sat back on the coffee table, studying her. Her eyes were vacant, and her head was moving side to side. She looked thoroughly disorientated.

As he was sitting, he felt a presence in the next room, but heard nothing. He checked around himself for a suitable weapon, when the door from the kitchen opened, and Sara silently stepped in.

"Cas?" Sara looked confused and relieved at the same time. "What in gods name are you doing here? When Ollie called and said Laurel needed my help, I kinda assumed she was alone."

"She would've been if I wasn't there, Oliver's more than a bit preoccupied. Still, it's good that you're here mèi mèi." She flushed as she always did when he called her that, "How have you been since the confrontation with Al-Owal? Is your mother well? How did she take the news that you're alive?"

"Oh, you know, fine." She told him absently, walking round the room. Even if he wasn't a telepath, he would've known she was lying.

"You didn't tell her did you." He asked rhetorically, already know the answer.

"I couldn't." She snapped back, "How do you tell your own mother you became an internationally feared assassin to survive?"

"I wouldn't know," he replied evenly, "My mother died when I was 6 years old. If she had somehow survived the last nineteen centuries, I'd be glad of the chance to tell her anything and everything about my life. Your parents are irreplaceable Sara, and they are perhaps the only people who will love and accept you no matter what."

"Still," he continued, "Now that you're in Starling, perhaps you could stay for a while. I know Oliver would love having you around. I certainly would."

She didn't say anything, fidgeting nerviously in front of him. "Think about it," he told her firmly. "I assume you're staying the night? I might head off, see how Oliver is doing with the latest crime crisis." He stood as he finished speaking, readjusting his jacket, and quickly crossed the room, enveloping Sara in a hug.

"Wǒ ài nǐ xiǎo mèi mèi." He whispered into her hair. _I love you little one. _"And that's never going to change."

He pulled back, mussed her hair like she was a little kid, which resulted in a yelp of protest, and headed to the door.

"Thank you Cas." She said quietly, after he was out of earshot, "For everything."

_'You are welcome. Always, and forever.' _His voice echoed through her head, and she smiled as she sat, beginning her vigil over her sister.

* * *

Roy followed Oliver down into the basement of the club in a daze. _'My girlfriend's brother is the vigilante.' _he thought numbly, _'He saved my life last year, and now he's going to train me. This is unreal!'_

He was only partly paying attention as he was introduced to Felicity and Diggle, vaguely remembering shaking hands and referring to them as 'Team Arrow', which Felicity seemed to like.

He could still feel the anger, the rage of the Mirakuru, burning beneath the shock, but he had it under control at the moment. Just as he was about to ask Oliver if he was officially part of the team, a voice he didn't recognise came from the top of the stairs.

"So Oliver, Laurel is home, safe and sound, and Sara is with her, so no need to worry about that. How did the recovery of the earthquake device..." He stopped short, seeming to notice Roy as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Good evening, apologies for my rudeness. We haven't been introduced, I'm Cas. Cas Grey, and you are?"

"Uh, Roy Harper."

"Oh I see, you're the miracle kid Oliver has been training." Roy flinched at the reference to the Mirakuru, but to his surprised Cas extended his hand with a comforting smile. "I'm glad to meet you Roy. Tell me, is training with Oliver as frustrating as I imagine it would be? Please don't tell me he's got you slapping water." He rolled his eyes comically, and Roy couldn't help but laugh.

"Actually, yeah I've slapped a _lot _of water the last few days.

As Cas stepped closer, Roy felt the anger that was bubbling below the surface simmer down, until he could barely feel it.

"Stick with us kid. I guarentee, you'll be fine."


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok guys, massive rewrite has happened! The biggest change is Mr Grey's name, I realised that John didn't make much sense, and it got confusing in my head because of good ol' Mr Diggle, so his name is Cas (as in Castiel, get it? :P) **

**I would advise rereading the first 9 chapters if its been a while for you, and even if it hasn't, I have tried to improve the overall quality. This chapter will be a teeny tiny interlude to preface the next one, which will be roughly based on Heir to the Demon, and have the surprise date in it!**

**As always, let me know what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 10 – Coffee break

The following day, Felicity found herself late for work for the first time in her life. She was running as she stepped off the elevator and into her office, until a thought filled her head, warm and reassuring:

_'Good morning Felicity,' _He started every day with a polite greeting, she noted, which always reminded her that manners are very important to him, _'Please try to calm down, that much stress plus the copious caffeine you consume every morning cannot be good for your heart.'_

She slowed down, and took a glance into his office. He was sat with the heads of HR and Finance, and although she couldn't hear what he was saying, the two department heads were hanging on every word. As she sat down, he tapped his intercom and his voice buzzed near her monitor.

"_Felicity, would you be able to grab me the company wide budget forecasts for the next quarter please? Oh, and three coffees. Thank you."_

She scowled through the glass at him, _coffee_ indeed! His playful smile softened her a bit though, and she had an idea.

_"Of course Mr Grey, won't be a moment." _she replied into the intercom, all the while thinking _'My revenge will be swift and brutal, so beware!'_

She watched his eyes widen slightly for second, and then he chuckled softly to himself and shook his head, turning back to the men he had been talking to, both of whom now looked thoroughly bemused.

As she walked through the door to his office, begrudgingly carrying a tray of coffee, she heard the tail end of their conversation.

"I must say Mr Grey, when the announcement came in that you were taking on the role of CEO, I was unsure what to expect. You are a relative unknown in this part of the country after all. I am glad that my worries were unfounded." The finance director, Mr Jackson, tapped the folder in his hand as he continued. "With these plans, and based on the forecasts you have shown me, it looks like Queen Consolidated could be entering into its first period of true prosperity since Robert Queen was taken from us. I am impressed."

"Thank you Martin," Cas replied, using an aloof, emotionless voice that Felicity had come to recognise as his CEO tone. "We must remain vigilant as a business as a whole, but generally speaking, it is as you say. Now, have we anything else to discuss this morning?"

As he said this he reached for one of the coffees Felicity offered and flashed her a thankful smile.

"Actually no Mr Grey, in fact we are needed downstairs. Thank you for the offer of coffee, perhaps another time." Ms Griffin said politely. The head of HR stood up to leave quickly, followed closely by Mr Jackson.

Felicity turned to go back to her desk as well when Cas gently said her name. She stopped, she loved the way he pronounced it, _'Felicity'._

"Would you care to join me for a coffee my dear, since there are currently two spare?" He asked innocently, and Felicity had a realisation.

"Did you do this on purpose?" She asked indignantly, when he didn't respond, she clarified, "You knew they were on their way out, but had me make 3 coffees so I would have coffee with you!"

He blinked, looking surprised. "I was about to deny it, but I am impressed Felicity. Yes, it was a ploy to get you to make us both coffee, and clearly it worked."

"What about the spare one," she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"That's for you too," he replied smoothly, pulling a thermos travel mug from one of his drawers. He casually poured the third coffee into the mug, closed the lid and handed it to her. "Because you always complain about needing a pick me up mid morning, but have too much to do.

It was her turn to blink. She was amazed he had remembered that, and while slightly perplexed by his sneaky method, she couldn't help but be slightly flattered that he had cooked up such a ridiculous little scheme just to get her an extra cup of coffee.

"You're either really lovely or completely insane, you know that right?" She blurted out, wincing as she heard the words.

Luckily, he just laughed, "Well yes, the jury is still out on that one my dear."

She laughed with him, but her face quickly turned serious. "Don't think that this kind gesture, or any amount of sweet talking, will make me tell you what we're doing tonight." She wagged a finger at him like she would a small child, "You'll just have to be patient."

He folded his arms across his chest and pouted slightly, _'Just like a child,' _she thought ruefully, _'The finger wag was actually pretty appropriate.'_

He relented when he realised she wasn't going to give in. "Fine, I have work to do anyway, enjoy your coffee." He picked up one of the as yet untouched files on his desk and started reading. Felicity took this as her queue to go back to work, and made her way back over to her desk.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Ex-girlfriends, dating and old habits

Cas couldn't keep his thoughts from Felicity as he made his way through the foyer of his building and onto the elevator. He genuinely did not know what she might have planned for him that evening, and he had stayed out of her thoughts as promised, despite the anticipation driving him crazy. He wasn't used to being surprised, it was a strange and alien feeling to him, but he found himself quite enjoying it.

As he stepped off the elevator into his apartment, he instantly knew something was wrong. He felt a dangerous presence. He probed gently, hoping to discern the nature of the threat without alerting the person to his presence.

He found what he wished to know almost immediately, the person was making no attempt to control their thoughts. He smiled to himself, _'She's getting sloppy. She must be quite desperate.'_

Keeping his smile in place, he stepped into his living area calmly and headed towards the kitchen, giving a casual wave to the figure attempting to hide herself in the shadows between one of the doors and the corner of the room.

"Good evening Nyssa." He said just as casually, pouring himself a glass of water from the decanter he kept by the hearth. "Would you care for a drink? Not alcohol of course, you appear to be working, but perhaps water, or tea?" He turned on the spot and looked straight at her as he said this last part, leaving no doubt that he knew exactly where she was, and was not afraid.

She stepped slowly out of the shadows and drew back an arrow in her bow.

"Now really, what do you hope to accomplish with that?" Cas continued mildly, "I had hoped your father taught you better. If you have a point of contention you wish to get off of your chest, please have a seat, and we can talk about it like civilised human beings."

Her eyes darted to the sofa he had indicated, before flashing back to his face and narrowing. "What would you know of my father?"

"Ra's and I met many years ago. I saved his life in fact, and he has owed me ever since. I offered him the chance to repay that debt by freeing Sara, and I even performed a League contract for him to seal the agreement. He did not live up to that agreement." His eyes narrowed at this, and Nyssa appeared to recoil ever so slightly before regaining her composure.

"Why should I trust you?" She snapped irritably. _'Oh my,' _he thought, _'a foul mood indeed.'_

"You likely shouldn't trust me," he replied smoothly, "however, you can clearly see I am unarmed, you have me at something of a loss. The least you could do is take the time to talk with me before putting an arrow through my throat."

She hesitated, then lowered her bow, replacing the arrow in her quiver, and sat, perched on the edge of the seat, looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Cas took the armchair opposite her, with a coffee table between them, sitting calmly with his legs crossed. He bridged his hands in front of him and let out a tiny sigh of relief.

"If I may begin," he said casually, "did Ra's send you, or are you here of your own volition?"

"I am here for my Canary," she responded instantly, "my father knows I am here, but he did not send me. This is a personal quest."

"A quest for what though, young one?" He inquired softly. "She left you, long before she met me, and she left the League also. Granted she simply ran, being unaware that I had freed her, but the fault for that is on neither her, nor myself, it is on your father."

"You poisoned her against us." Nyssa was quickly becoming frustrated with the line of conversation, as Cas had known she would. Love rarely cares for the truth if that truth clashes with what the heart in question desires. He shook his head.

"That is not the case, _girl._ I knew from the moment I met her that she hated the killing she had to do for the League. She cared for you deeply, and as far as I can tell, she still does. Sadly, she could never reconcile those feelings with the monster you had turned her into, and so she came to resent you, despite still being drawn to you. Can you imagine the emotional turmoil that irreconcilable difference would cause?" He leaned forward as he was speaking, to emphasise the importance of what he was saying. "She is home now, with her family, and friends around her who love her. If you feel about her as strongly as you say you do, you will let her go. Let your canary fly free. Who knows, one day she may find her way back to you, but if she does it will be on her terms, as a free woman, not as a slave to the League.

As he finished speaking, he pushed a feeling onto her, ever so gently, so as not to make her aware of what he was doing. The feeling was of logic, sense and reason. He hoped to make her see the senselessness of her actions before things came to blows.

Her head dropped slightly, and he heard a soft sob escape her lips.

"Perhaps you are right. She deserves freedom." She admitted grudgingly, before looking him in the eyes, imploringly. "But please, I must see her before I return to Nanda Parbat. Let me say goodbye."

"You poisoned her sister to trick her into coming home, and from what I can gather, you were planning to hold her mother to ransom until she agreed to meet with you." He stated calmly, as if he was discussing the weather. "I can arrange for you to see her, one last time, but it will be on my terms. No duplicity. Nobody getting hurt. Are we clear?"

She nodded, then stood and turned quickly before racing towards the window. He didn't bother to follow her movements, knowing she would be long gone.

He let out the breath he didn't realise he had been holding. _'That was easier than expected' _he thought, _'Perhaps too easy. I do hope, for her sake, that she sticks to her word.'_

With that, he headed into the bedroom to change for his date.

* * *

Felicity was nervously tapping away at her keyboard in the Arrow Cave, fretting over meeting Cas later in the evening, when she heard someone coming down the stairs. She frowned in confusion before turning round, knowing that Oliver, Diggle and Sara were all present, and Roy was with Thea, and definitely not coming in. When she finally spun in her chair to look, she saw none other than the object of her nerves, Castiel Grey himself. She gave him her best withering stare, since he had promised he was going to head home from the office, change and then drive to hers at 7 for their date. It was barely 6, what did he think he was doing?

He made his way directly towards her, seeming not to notice the sideways glances from the rest of the group, and immediately answered Felicity's thoughts.

"I'm sorry for going off book a bit my dear, but something rather pressing has presented itself, and since it affects everyone here, I thought it prudent to head straight over." He said all this quickly and impatiently, like he was dispensing with a formality, before raising his voice slightly. "Could I speak with all of you please, especially you little one." He motioned towards Sara, "Something mildly troubling, but potentially for the best has happened."

He waited for them all to gather round the desk before continuing.

"Nyssa is in Starling City."

"What?!" Sara burst out, perfectly in time with the other 3 all simultaneously saying, "Who?!"

Sara's mouth clamped shut, and she stared resolutely at her hands, clearly not intending to speak.

"Well, I suppose I shall explain," Cas said with a sigh, "Nyssa is the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul, her title among the League is Heir to the Demon, can you believe?"

"Why is she here?" Oliver cut in.

"I'm getting there my friend, when have you ever known me to not be thorough in my story telling? I wouldn't want to miss anything important." Cas's tone was not unkind, but could perhaps be construed as slightly patronising, like an elder addressing a youth. _'Which it kinda is'_ Felicity reminded herself.

"Nyssa was also the one who found Sara after she almost drowned on the freighter off the coast of Lianyu. She nursed her back to health, and they...grew close."

"I loved her," Sara put in, so quietly that they barely heard her. Felicity saw Oliver's eyes widen, and knew her own had done the same. _'Sara's first relationship after Oliver and the island was with a _female _international assassin, did not see that one coming.' _Felicity thought idly as she listened.

"But what's she doing here?" Sara asked, looking up slightly. "After Al-Owal, I was supposed to be free of them, why would Ra's send her after me now?"

"He didn't," Cas replied simply, "She came because she still cares for you, and I believe she intended to bring you back, with force if necessary. I found her in my apartment when I got home, bow drawn and fully prepared to shoot. If I hadn't talked her down...well let's just say I'd have some blood stains to clean out of my carpet in the morning."

"Luckily for us, I convinced her that you deserve to be free, and that if she truly loves you she'll let you go. It's an old and overused line I know, but sometimes the old ones are the best, a fact of which I am living proof." He smiled briefly and winked at Felicity as he said this. She felt a slight blush creep up her neck, as images flashed through her head, just as they had at the office when he played her at her own game.

"She simply requested a chance to see you one last time, to say goodbye." Cas continued as if he was totally unaware of the effect he was having on Felicity. "I told her I would set that up, but under our terms, and with my supervision. I won't have her betraying us and attempting to spirit you away against your will, not again."

Sara stepped closer and enveloped Cas in a tender hug. "Thank you." She whispered softly, "I don't know why you keep saving me, but thank you, so much!"

He pulled his head back and smiled down at her, "Haven't you worked it out," he replied, just as tenderly, "I do these things for you because they are what you deserve. You are a wonderful person Sara, and while you have been hurt by the world, you've come out the other side stronger, and still with a good heart. Don't forget that."

A radiant smile split her face, and Felicity thought it was the loveliest the blonde assassin had ever looked.

As they pulled apart and Sara turned to go back towards Oliver and Diggle, but stopped briefly and glanced over her shoulder.

"You know, I think that's the first time since we met that you've actually called me by my name, rather than little one, or mei mei...why is that?"

He made a show of thinking for a few seconds, as if pondering the answer, before saying, "Perhaps it is because you don't seem quite so little anymore. You've grown since we met Sara, into an incredible woman, and you will continue to do so, I couldn't be more proud."

She blushed slightly, which was a sight Felicity was not used to seeing on the other blonde.

After the conversation ended, the three fighters went back to training and Felicity went back to her monitors. As Cas left, he loudly said, "See you in an hour Felicity," and she couldn't help the smirk that came to her face.

* * *

Cas realised he was nervous. He sat on the floor with his legs crossed and tried to focus on the meditation techniques he had learned in Tibet. He wondered what Felicity would think if she knew he had been a monk. _'Orange robes and all' _he thought with a small chuckle, before returning to his meditation. _'The longest I have ever spent in one place, nearly 140 years, and it was in a tiny Taoist temple, meditating on the meaning of life. I wonder what Felicity would think about that?'_

As he failed to focus, his thoughts turned once again to the charming IT girl. _'What is it about her.' _he began to wonder, _'Aside from her stunning beauty, her remarkable intellect and her complete lack of guile.'_

He realised if anyone could here _his_ thoughts, they might think him slightly mad, sarcastically mocking himself. Perhaps Felicity was correct in her comment about his being crazy.

After finally giving up on meditation, he glanced at the clock and realised he should probably leave.

The drive was uneventful, and as it was a lovely night, he had the top down on his vintage 1963 mustang. _'Real vintage'_ he thought _'and only one owner'_ he added wryly.

As he approached Felicity's apartment, he immediately knew something was wrong. He hurried to the door, and stood impatiently after he knocked. After a minute she finally answered, and he noticed she looked pale and worried. He immediately crossed the threshold and drew her into his arms.

"What's wrong my dear?" He asked gently, already knowing full well what had happened.

"I confronted Moira Queen about something I learned while doing research for Walter, and she threatened me. It's ok, I know she was lying, that's kinda what she does, but it just shook me up a bit. She can be surprisingly scary. Can we just forget about it? Not that you actually now what _it _is, but I'd like to forget about it and have fun."

"Felicity," he cut across her rant, "Oliver isn't going to leave you, not for telling him the truth about his mother's duplicity."

"Her what...how did you...are you in my head again?" He shook his head, deciding the truth was possibly the best idea. "Then you already knew?" He nodded slightly, "How long have you known?!" Her voice was rising, alongside her anger.

"Since Oliver and I fought Cyrus Gold." He told her calmly. She just stared back, giving him her best glare. "Merlyn went to the mansion to threaten her over Thea, I stepped in and sent him running. Problem solved." He shrugged as if that was the end of the discussion, not realising he had dropped another large bombshell on Felicity.

"Merlyn as in Malcolm Merlyn?" Cas nodded again in confirmation. "He's alive?!"

"So it seems." Cas responded candidly, forgoing his usual linguistic flare.

"How could you keep something like that from your friend? Oliver trusts you, and this is betraying him."

"I don't see how, Malcolm is gone, Thea is safe. Telling him would only cause undue pain. Keeping a secret from a friend is preferable to that."

"No Cas, that's not how it works. It's his choice what he does with that information, not yours." She held a finger up to his face angrily. "You can't just manipulate the people around you, keeping them in the dark without their consent."

"Actually Felicity I can, I've been doing just that for almost 2000 years. People can't be trusted with the truth, it can ruin lives. Better a small amount of blissful ignorance than to add more to the pile of secrecy and lies that Oliver already carries with him." His voice was still totally calm, but Felicity couldn't help but detect an undertone.

She was too shocked to speak. She couldn't believe this was the same guy who tricked her into making herself 2 extra coffees in the morning, and acted like the perfect gentleman. She struggled to understand how someone so nice on the outside, could be so cold on the inside.

"I think you should leave." She said quietly, not looking at him

"Felicity," he said in that way she liked, his voice softening from the cold demeanour he had been displaying not a moment before, "You were right earlier, could we perhaps forget about all of this for the evening and go back to enjoying our date?"

"I don't think so," she told him, sounding much steadier than she felt, "Even if I could just forget, which I can't, I'd rather not have our date be associated with all of these lies and deceptions, so like I said, you should leave. I will see you at work."

He moved as if to step towards her, then seemed to think better of it and simply walked out the door. As she shut it behind him, she slid down to the floor as a few tears escaped. What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

As Cas pulled away, his phone buzzed. He picked it up and saw an unknown number

_Meet me at the old factory by the docks, bring her. Nyssa_

He sped up, dialling Oliver as he did so, glad to have a distraction for the rest of the evening.

* * *

**So folks, first chapter since the rewrite, what do you think? The date was a bit of a disaster (what little of it took place) but who knows, maybe they'll work it out, or maybe they won't you'll have to wait and see! :P**

**As always, thank you for reading, and feedback is very welcome!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Tick tock goes the clock

Felicity's mood hadn't improved by the following morning. She marched purposefully down into the foundry, hoping that some work would take her mind off of the less than desirable end to her evening.

She had replayed that short exchange in her mind repeatedly as she lay in bed, wondering if perhaps she had misinterpreted, or been too harsh. Every time, she came to the same conclusion. She wasn't comfortable with the way Cas manipulated the people in his life, nor the way he kept information from them 'for their own good'. Looking back, even the seemingly nice things he had done for her, or for Oliver, had always been without consent or forewarning. Buying Queen Consolidated for example, or even his little coffee trick. His entire personality seemed to be based on manipulation of others.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, lost in thought, and was momentarily taken by surprise when Oliver stormed past her up and out of the foundry.

"Where are you going?" She asked, regaining her composure.

"To have a talk with my mother." Oliver replied curtly, not even slowing down.

Felicity stood in mute shock for a moment, _'That can't be a coincidence.' _She thought absently.

She made her way to her desk and saw the top of a head sat in her chair. As she got closer, the figure turned to face her, and of course, it was the _last_ person she wanted to see right now.

She opened her mouth to upbraid him, tell him to get out of her seat and that she was not in the mood for any more games, when she saw the look on his face. It was slightly defeated, and the most open she had ever seen him look. She swallowed her snide comments, and within a moment he spoke.

"I must beg your forgiveness Felicity. You were absolutely right last night, keeping that information from Oliver was wrong. It is not my place to decide how he or anyone else lives in this life…" He paused, as if he was about to say one thing, then thought better of it and instead said, "I have attempted to make amends. After the meeting with Nyssa, which went surprisingly well by the way, I told Oliver the truth. I considered simply telling him I had just found out, but I thought again on your words, and so I told him the _whole _truth. How I have known for weeks, and your finding out was what prompted me to reveal his mother's duplicity to him. He wasn't happy, but he accepted the truth of it."

"Oh," was all she could manage. She hadn't expected him to relent so quickly; he had been calmly adamant that he was right the previous evening. She wondered what had changed.

"Nothing changed as such." He responded, without waiting for her to articulate her thoughts aloud. "I simply could not stand the idea that you held a negative opinion of me."

"Ok, I guess I can understand that. Not that I'm saying that I'm fine with it, because after some thinking, I kinda realised that this behaviour is pretty ingrained into you." She halted her minor word vomit and tried to fill the gap by asking the first thing that came to her mind. "Did you wait down here just to tell me you're sorry?"

"Not entirely." He replied slowly, seeming to weigh up whether to speak. "In the interest of full disclosure, I was just erasing a piece of the foundry's security footage from last night."

"What?!" Felicity was mortified, he claimed to be sorry about lying to and manipulating Oliver, and then he uses her computer's without permission, to tamper with security footage, again without permission. "You had better have a good explanation mister." She raised a finger up to his eye level, and he seemed to struggle with a grin. _'Don't even think about giving me that look right now.' _she thought angrily.

His face dropped again and he raised his hands in supplication. "It seemed a good reason my dear. After the meeting with Nyssa, Sara and Oliver came back here together. Between my revelation to Oliver about his mother and all of the tension that had been present between Sara and Nyssa, I knew something had subtly shifted between them. When I got here first, i thought I'd check the footage before you arrived just to be sure."

She raised an eyebrow, confused at first, then realisation dawned and her eyes widened.

"Oh my god, so you're saying that they...that Oliver and Sara...right here, in the foundry? Seriously?"

He nodded and said, "Right there in fact" pointing to the training mat.

After a pause to let the information sink in, he continued. "I feel I must once again apologise if I have made a false assumption, but despite your assurance that you no longer have feelings for Oliver, I felt that walking in this morning for a routine check and seeing something quite so...graphic, would have been an unpleasant shock for you."

Felicity let out a sigh, the culmination of her disjointed thoughts the night before finally coming together.

"I forgive you for last night." She began, trying to organise the mini epiphany she had just had. "After you left, I started to think about all the different ways you had lied, withheld information, or acted manipulatively since we met, and I realised that the reason I got so angry wasn't because you always act this way, that seems to be a part of who you are, and I can accept that, it was that this time your intentions weren't noble, or good. Every time you have acted this way until now has been motivated by good intentions. Buying QC was to help Oliver, your tricks at the office have always been to brighten up my day, or make me laugh. But this time, you did something that could really hurt your friend, and you didn't see the difference. That was what upset me."

He seemed to visibly relax at this, the tension in his shoulders dissipating. "You are wise beyond your years Felicity. As a child I was told repeatedly that the gods cast a distinction between intention and deed. It is self evident that the greatest harm can often result from the best intentions. An insidious concept to be sure, but one that must be kept in mind. I will endeavour to increase my vigilance in this matter. May I ask a boon? Could we continue from here as if this unfortunate incident never occurred?"

She couldn't help but laugh a little bit, and when he raised an eyebrow inquisitively, as seemed to be his thing, she laughed more. Her laughter died down as he started to look worried and tried to look reassuring as she said. "Of course, as long as it doesn't happen again, I can let this one slide. I'm laughing because you always seem to find the longest possible way to say stuff. Seriously, can't you occasionally talk like a regular person?"

He joined her in her mirth. "Why use one word my dear when you can use twenty." He added a wink for effect.

Just at that moment, Felicity's monitors beeped. She motioned Cas aside and sat down, tapping away at her keyboard. After a minute, she looked up at him and said, "Arrow business, someone broke into a company called Kord Industries and stole a piece of pretty advanced tech. I should probably call Oliver."

She stepped away and dialled her phone. Cas sat in the spare chair at her desk and watched her walk away and start to pace while speaking animatedly on the phone. He enjoyed the way she talked so vibrantly, how she couldn't seem to help being so expressive, both physically and verbally. He was once again struck by how fascinating she was, and his worry from the previous night, that he had stepped over a line from which he could not return, flooded back into him. He suppressed the feeling, reminding himself that logically she had given him a chance, and as long as he used it wisely, he had no need to worry.

As Felicity came back over, he saw her hang up the phone.

"We're going to work on the mysterious thief problem this afternoon, and Oliver wanted to remind us both that it's Sara's big welcome home party tonight, and not to be late."

"Sounds wonderful," Cas replied evenly, sensing her reticence in the matter. "Perhaps we should be getting to the office, if you're leaving early to work on this Arrow business, and we have a party to go to."

He stood smoothly as he spoke and gestured for her to go ahead of him, then followed her up the stairs to Verdant.

* * *

Sara was terrified. She had no problem admitting it. Taking on the lowlifes in the Glades was child's play compared to what she was being subjected to tonight. Her welcome home party. She shuddered. People crowding round her, smiling and telling her what a miracle it was she had come home safely. As if she hadn't clawed her way back with every ounce of strength she had. As if she wasn't still lost, adrift in the darkness that threatened to consume her. She sighed, knowing that this line of thinking wouldn't get her anywhere.

She rang the doorbell of the Queen Mansion, her mother and father standing silently behind her. As the door opened, she was greeted by the sight of a smiling Oliver, with his mother at his side. After pleasantries were exchanged, Sara stepped away to join the rest of the party.

She entered the main room and saw almost nobody she immediately recognised. Her first reaction was to look back to Oliver for support, but she saw him heading into another room with her father. _'Uh oh' _she thought immediately, _'I wonder what that's about.'_

She turned back and realised people had started noticing her walk in. A few at a time, they came up and offered all of the pointless platitudes she had expected. She plastered a smile on her face and went through the motions, silently wishing for the whole affair to be over. She knew Oliver meant well, and his wanting to celebrate her return was very sweet, but this was all a bit much.

Just as she was reaching her limit, a soft accented voice at her shoulder said, "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm afraid I must steal away the lady of the evening for just a moment. If you will excuse us." She looked up just in time to see Cas flashing the group in front of her an apologetic smile. They all seemed instantly charmed by him, and didn't complain as he whisked Sara away into an adjoining room that was much quieter. He sat her down and went over to a drinks cart, pouring them both a healthy glass of scotch.

"You looked like you needed rescuing," he said by way of explanation, making his way back to her and sitting down. "You know rumour has it you were once the life and soul of these kinds of events. Getting old?" The last was said with a half smile and a wink. She covered her mouthful of whiskey as she giggled.

"Says you old man," she retorted, laughing harder. "I bet your party days are long gone."

He looked past her for a moment, a wistful look in his eye. "Yes you may be right about that," he replied with mock seriousness, "but I can still party with you younguns when the mood strikes, don't you forget it."

"So, I must say, I'm glad you and Oliver finally stopped tiptoeing around one another and acted on your feelings."

Sara was stunned for a moment. She and Ollie had agreed that they would keep it between them for a while, for her family's sake, and although Felicity and Diggle had been told that afternoon, she wasn't sure how he knew.

"If you want to keep a secret from someone who has access to the foundry, you might want to reconsider where you have your spontaneous nights of passion. Or at least turn the security feeds off...although I suppose that defeats the point of spontaneity." He explained matter of factly as she cringed.

"You saw that? Oh god I'm mortified!" She covered her face in her hands.

"Luckily nothing I haven't seen before, with either of you actually." She looked up at this and he absentmindedly waved away her look. "Long story...as I was saying, luckily I saw it before one of the other two had an embarrassing morning."

Sara sighed, "I guess you're right, thanks."

"Anytime. So, back to you and Oliver," he wiggled his eyebrows in an uncharacteristically silly fashion, "whats the gossip?"

She wasn't sure whether to laugh or not, his behaviour was so out of character from the aloof, serious guy she knew.

"Um, we're kinda not sure yet. It's nice with him, familiar, and there's always been a connection there, even before the island, and its only grown stronger, despite all that time apart. I'm kinda scared that I'll do something to screw it up." She looked down sadly, "I'm still so full of darkness from my time in Nanda Parbat, and I don't know if it'll ever go away."

Cas reached out and placed a hand reassuringly against her cheek. She leaned into it and sighed as he spoke.

"Speaking from extensive experience." He put a finger under her chin until she was looking at him again, "And not to belittle all that has happened to you, but trust my centuries of experience when I say that darkness only takes hold if you let it. You have the power to let it all go, just as Oliver did. He had friends around him that brought him back from the dark place he was in after Lianyu. They helped him get to where he is now, and we can do the same for you."

"I don't know..." She began, but he cut across her.

"Whether or not you yet believe it, just do not ever think you are alone. If at any time you find yourself starting on a dark thought process, talk to one of us. Okay?"

"I'll try Cas, thanks." He lifted his hand in a fist, then extended the little finger towards her and said "Promise?

Her eyebrows felt like the were climbing up into her skull she was so surprised.

"Are you expecting me to _pinky swear_?" He nodded, "How do you even know what that is?" She laughed as he looked confused for a moment.

"Popular culture suggests this is something girls your age would do." He said, as if that explained everything.

Her laughter died down and she said, "Thanks, that comment reminded me how much of an old man you are again. I was worried for a second."

And with that, she grabbed his pinky with hers and shook it

"I pinky swear I won't try to go through life alone anymore, I will let you and Oliver, and maybe the rest of Team Arrow, in. Okay?"

"Wonderful," he responded, smiling warmly. "Shall we rejoin the party?"

* * *

As they crossed the foyer, Sara looked downcast again. When she saw Cas's look of confusion she simply said, "Laurel didn't come."

As Cas was about to offer her some comfort, Oliver walked up and informed Sara that they were both needed at a bank robbery that was being undertaken by the Clock King. The older man wished them all the best, and then left the party. As he got into his car, a thought popped into his head, and he felt his meddlesome side coming to the fore. He remembered Felicity's reaction to his actions with Oliver, and it sobered him for a moment, but then he recalled her distinction between noble and deceitful intentions, and he picked up his phone.

He dialled the number he wanted, and waited. She picked up after a few rings, and he heard a mild slur to her voice.

"Good evening Laurel." He began smoothly, waiting for her to respon in hopes of gauging her mood.

"Well well well, if it isn't my knight in shining armour. To what do I owe the pleasure."

_'Oh good,'_ he thought _'Perhaps this won't be so difficult after all.'_

"As a matter of fact, I was calling to see if you would be much averse to the idea of accompanying me to lunch tomorrow. There is a lovely bistro that has opened downtown and I imagine one with tastes as refined as your own would be more than equipped to sample it with me."

"Well I can't resist such an eloquent offer, pick me up at 1 and we'll see if this place is all that."

"Fabulous, I will see you then."

He ended the call and immediately redialled, calling Felicity. He had told her he intended full disclosure, and he planned to stick to that, so he felt he had better explain why he was taking Laurel out _before_ the event, so as to assuage any small possibility of jealousy.

* * *

**It feels to me like not a lot happened this chapter, especially with the title, but I usually post a new chapter at around 3000 words, so I'll put this one out there now. I'll do a part 2 in the next few days with any luck, finishing the clock king arc and maybe even a bit of the following episode as well... **

**As always, let me know what you think! Reviews keep me going :)**


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